Sign of the times in Japan as nappy company switches production to adult nappies

A nappy manufacturer in Japan is to stop making the products for babies and instead raise production of adult diapers, in a reflection of the country’s rapidly ageing society. Oji Holdings, which specialises in paper products, said it would stop making children’s nappies in September amid a sharp decline in demand. The firm has seen sales drop from a peak of about 700m in 2001 to 400m today.

Sales of adult diapers have outpaced those of nappies in Japan for well over a decade, and recent population statistics indicate that the trend will continue.
Yuko Sugawara, left, and Manami Kuroyabu at a drop-in daycare facility in Nagi, where the birth rate is more than twice Japan's national average.

The number of births in Japan fell to an all-time low of 758,631 in 2023, compared with 1,590,503 deaths. Children under the age of 15 accounted for less than 12% percent of the country’s population in 2022, the public broadcaster NHK said, while those aged 65 and over made up almost 30%.