Golden Week holiday lacks luster for small businesses

Apr 27, 2019 | News On Japan

Apr 27, 2019 (Nikkei) - As most Japanese eagerly await the annual Golden Week holiday that begins on Saturday, small business owners are scrambling to figure out how to survive the longer-than-usual break as many banks and financial services will be shuttered for 10 days.

Miyuki Nakakura, manager of a small cafe in central Tokyo, says she will have to wait to collect the roughly 400,000 yen ($3,573) weekly payment for her food delivery services, which comprise a significant part of the company's earnings.

The 32-year-old Nakakura uses Uber Eats, an online food delivery platform based in San Francisco. Uber typically pays out each Tuesday for the preceding week's sales. But the long holiday means Nakakura will not see her funds for end-of-April sales until after the holiday on May 7 -- about a two-week wait.

Golden Week was extended this year to include celebrations for the Imperial succession, shuttering banks, government offices and most large companies. It is a welcome break for most of the country but a nervous time for cash-strapped smaller businesses.

The majority of international bank transactions go through the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication network, or SWIFT. Uber Eats is no exception, making payments to Japanese banks even over holidays. Since remittances are processed during business hours, however, Uber Eats' Japanese merchants -- more than 8,500 --- will be in for a long wait.

Shop owner Miyuki Nakakura needs to obtain a small loan to see her business through this year's 10-day Golden Week.

Nakakura hopes to get a 400,000 yen online bridge loan from Japan Net Bank to pay the 1.5 million yen in salaries and rent due around the end of the month.

Shops that rely on credit cards for inventory purchases could also feel strapped if due dates for payables fall on nonbusiness days, since credit limits will not reset until payments are recorded.

The Japanese Bankers Association has a 24-hour remittance system, but only for transactions up to 100 million yen. Moreover, it does not cover salary payments.

Record Rain Triggers Level 5 Warning in Fukui

Record rainfall caused 19 rivers to overflow across Fukui Prefecture, flooding roads and homes, triggering landslides and temporarily forcing authorities to issue the highest-level heavy rain emergency warning from early Sunday morning.

Drones Deliver Supplies to Residents Cut Off by Landslide

Drones were used to deliver food and daily necessities to an isolated mountain community in Himi City, Toyama Prefecture, on August 30 after torrential rain triggered a landslide that cut off road access, while volunteers continued flood recovery work in neighboring Ishikawa Prefecture.

Typhoon No. 23 Overtakes No. 22 East of Japan as Both Head North

Two typhoons east of Japan were moving northward on August 30, with Typhoon No. 23 (Banlan) overtaking Typhoon No. 22 (Artau), although neither storm is expected to have a direct impact on Japan.

Nine-Minute Drone Video Shows Scale of Aeon Mall Damage

A 9-minute, 13-second drone video filmed inside Aeon Mall Kumamoto two days after the deadly explosion has provided a detailed view of the destruction, showing collapsed ceilings, heavy dust and widespread damage that may have affected between one-third and nearly half of the shopping center.

Conditions Ease as Typhoon No. 18 Passes Okinawa

Strong Typhoon No. 18 was moving northwest through the East China Sea on the night of August 26, gradually pulling away from Okinawa and the Amami Islands as lingering rain, strong winds and high waves were expected to ease. As of 9 p.m. on August 26, the typhoon was over waters north-northwest of Kume Island and moving northwest.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Three Students Swept Out to Sea in Kagoshima

Three teenage boys who went missing after being swept offshore from the coast of Ichikikushikino, Kagoshima Prefecture, on August 28 were found in the sea near the scene on August 29 and confirmed dead.

Foreign Cyclist Suffers Broken Shoulder in Shiga Hit-and-Run

A foreign man in his 30s suffered serious injuries after being struck by a car while riding a bicycle in Higashiomi, Shiga Prefecture, early on August 29, with police investigating the incident as a hit-and-run.

Bread Dumping Mystery Takes a Twist

A fake video apparently created with generative AI showing a large bear eating piles of sliced bread has spread on social media following a series of illegal bread dumping incidents in Tottori Prefecture, prompting the prefectural government to warn that misinformation could cause economic harm.

Teens Arrested for Spraying Fire Extinguishers at Police Station

Three youths, including a high school student and a junior high school student, have been arrested on suspicion of obstructing police duties after allegedly stealing fire extinguishers and spraying them toward a police station in Kasugai, Aichi Prefecture.

Avant-Garde Artist Yayoi Kusama Dies at 97

Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese avant-garde artist whose obsessive dots, nets, pumpkins and mirrored rooms grew from intensely personal visions into some of the most recognizable images in contemporary art, died at a hospital in Tokyo on August 14, 2026, at the age of 97. Her death was announced on August 27 by companies representing the artist, which said she continued painting until her final days.

Bus Driver Crashes While Shooing Away Mosquito

A Toei bus crashed into a traffic signal in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward on the morning of August 26 after the driver lost control of the steering wheel while trying to shoo away a mosquito, leaving two male passengers injured.

Don't Touch Paramedics' Shoes! Kanazawa Warns

Kanazawa's fire department is asking residents not to straighten or rearrange shoes removed by paramedics during emergency calls, warning that the well-intentioned gesture can delay the transport of patients by around 30 seconds and potentially interfere with medical care.

Luxury Watch Theft Carried Out in 10 Seconds

Two men who stole four luxury watches worth a combined 200 million yen from a store at Tokyo's Nakano Broadway may have carefully planned the 10-second theft, with one suspect renting an electric kick scooter shortly before the crime and investigators examining whether the other man's escape on foot was intended as a decoy.

< 2 3 4 5 >