By Tom Bateman
TOKYO (Reuters) – A big metallic arm in a Japanese manufacturing facility swept a cluster of fluffy white cloth rectangles off a carousel into a gaggle to be wrapped in plastic earlier than packaging for cargo.
The gadgets have been grownup diapers being turned out by automated manufacturing traces that stretch for 80 m (262 ft) at a facility run by Daio Paper within the Fujinomiya area, close to the vacationer landmark, Mount Fuji.
Manufacturing facility overseer Naoto Sugaya mentioned output has grown yr on yr, as he held a pair of the “paper pants” near his thigh and defined their options.
“The part around the legs is very tight-fitting,” he added. “When you put them on, you can use them without any worry.”
As Japan’s inhabitants ages, the corporate is pouring extra sources into the rising new market. It says income from grownup diaper gross sales is already double that of these meant for infants.
With births falling final yr to a document low, Japan’s inhabitants is prone to decline by about 30% to 87 million by 2070, with 4 individuals in each 10 aged 65 or extra, estimates present.
These figures are pushing different corporations to modify focus, too.
One other diaper maker, Oji Holdings, made headlines this yr when it mentioned it will cease making nappies for infants and as an alternative concentrate on adults.
Other than their dimension, diapers for adults have key variations, since prospects are extra discerning than the typical child, and depend on them in a wider vary of conditions, mentioned Daio Paper advertising supervisor Kenji Nakata.
Survey outcomes confirmed potential consumers discovered the corporate’s merchandise helpful, he mentioned.
“‘Wow,’ they said, ‘If they’re like this, I’d buy them, they wouldn’t be embarrassing to bring home,'” Nakata added. “‘If I wore these pants I could do my hobbies, go fishing, play golf, go shopping in Ginza.'”
Daio Paper has no plans to cease making nappies for infants, Nakata mentioned, however the way forward for the enterprise was clear.
“We can expect the market for adult diapers to continue to grow, and therefore we are devoting our company’s resources to that market with a view to expanding these products.”
Over the 5 years to 2027, Japan’s diaper marketplace for adults is about to develop 16% to 98.9 billion yen ($612 million), whereas that for infants is estimated to contract 8% to 84.6 billion yen, analysis agency Fuji Keizai says. ($1=161.6000 yen)
