Relay your business?

I was particularly intrigued by one of today's anniversaries in Japan. It is called Business Succession Relay Day (relay（リレイ）でつなぐ事業承継の日) and it falls annually on February 9th. I think it is a really clever idea and much needed in Japan to prevent age old traditions and companies from disappearing in Japan. 

Business Succession Relay Day was created by "Light Light", who run a business succession matching platform. The idea is to find someone to take over a company that is facing closure due to a lack of successors. As we know, it is quite common for businesses to be passed down through the generations in Japan. But either due to lack of family interest and / or smaller family sizes it has become increasingly hard to keep this tradition going. "Light light" aims to use "relay" to prevent avoidable shutdowns.

"Light Light" established the day to raise awareness about this growing national problem and to try and stem it. Because these closures don’t just affect owners; they weaken local economies and accelerate population decline in rural areas. It is a clever idea with an excellent premise, and I hope it is successful.