Overview
2007 - 2009
The level of entrepreneurial activity in Japan, as measured in terms of the start-up ratio, has increased slightly since the start of the 21st century, but still remains at the lowest level in international comparisons. Given the important link between entrepreneurial activity and innovation, the current situation needs to be rectified as quickly as possible. With this in mind, the government has introduced policy lending programs and various other measures to increase start-ups. Though such policy measures should presumably be based on the information like conditions affecting entrepreneurship and obstacles to the start-ups, not enough is known in Japan compared to the U.S. and Europe due to data constraints. In particular, almost nothing is known about "latent entrepreneurs" whose behavior determines the future level of a country's entrepreneurial activities. The purpose of this project is to investigate the current conditions of entrepreneurs and latent entrepreneurs in Japan. The microdata obtained from the investigation will be used in statistical analysis to determine how the level of entrepreneurial activity can be raised and where current problems and obstacles lie.
August 21, 2007 - December 31, 2009
