The number of bankruptcies among apparel-related companies reached 210 in January-September 2026. Employment in the textile industry nearly halved, from 670,000 in 2007 to 350,000 in 2023, while the proportion aged 65 and over was 22.9%, or approximately 1 in 4 people.
In Japan’s apparel-related industry, the number of bankruptcies reached 210 from January through September 2026. Retail declined year on year, while manufacturing increased and wholesale also showed an upward trend.
From a labour-market perspective, employment in the textile industry nearly halved from 670,000 in 2007 to 350,000 in 2023, while the proportion of employees aged 65 and over reached 22.9%, or approximately 1 in 4 people. Some point to the advancing ageing of the workforce as affecting the recruitment of personnel and the transfer of skills.
The factors behind the bankruptcies include rising raw-material, outsourcing and logistics costs, alongside challenges such as the difficulty of passing on higher costs through prices, business succession and personnel development. Going forward, the focus is expected to be on how to maintain and rebuild supply chains in production regions.