地場産業の活性化は如何にあるべきか : 主要産地を比較して

Abstract

Based on tradition technology, regionally available raw materials and local capital, varieties of local traditional industries or "Jibasangyo" have grown across the nation. Some 550 "Jibasangyo" districts are located in Japan according to the Government Annual Report on Small and Medium Enterprises. Many of these local traditional industries compose "clustered"-type industrial district and have contributed to economic development of the region. Local traditional industries, however, are currently placed in a severe condition, due to the prolonged business stagnation after the so called "bubble" economy, weakened competitive power for export as a result of skyrocketed appreciation of the yen and surging imported goods from abroad. Although modernization and streamlining measures have been introduced one after another to the local traditional industries to vitalize them toward survival, more appropriate diagnosis of their business management and guidance are needed to support their effort. Local traditional industries have wide range of industrial fields such as ceramic products, textile industries, furniture manufacturing, Japanese lacquer ware industries, as well as difference of their historical background. Since these varied local traditional industries can not be dealt with in a uniform way, two industrial districts -Bisai woolen fabric industrial area and Seto ceramic industrial area- are picked up in this report. Textile industries and ceramic industries are the typical local traditional industries that involve the largest numbers of small and medium business. This comparative study of these two industrial area from the viewpoint of business diagnosis is aimed at seeking for better checking items in business diagnosis.