AXA Life Insurance released the results of its Presidents' White Paper 2026 survey of 18,644 small and medium-sized business owners and managers across Japan. The survey highlights the challenges posed by prolonged inflation, talent shortages and management structures, as well as issues related to health and successor development.
The survey was conducted through a web questionnaire from 2 March to 31 May 2026 among small and medium-sized business owners and managers across all 47 prefectures of Japan, with 18,644 respondents. The survey, titled Presidents' White Paper 2026, was organised and conducted by AXA Life Insurance Co., Ltd.
With prolonged inflation as a premise, rising raw material and procurement costs and higher labour costs were cited most frequently as pressures on business management. Around 46% of respondents identified increases in raw material and procurement costs as an impact, while approximately 23% cited higher labour costs.
In addition, people-related issues, including talent shortages, successor development and the business owner's own health, ranked among the leading risks to business continuity. Successor development was recognised as a particularly significant challenge.
Employee health management and mental health measures were also among the survey themes. In preparation for the mandatory introduction of stress checks at workplaces with fewer than 50 employees in April 2028, the results indicated differences in the state of preparations by business size.
The survey was conducted from 2 March to 31 May 2026 and received 18,644 responses from small and medium-sized business owners and managers nationwide. For further details, see AXA Life Insurance's release.