Research
Japan's ~4.0M private-sector establishments, broken down by industry
Per the 2024 Economic Census (Basic Survey), Japan has 4,023,941 private-sector establishments. The largest industry is Wholesale and Retail Trade at 964,106 (24.0% of the total). By prefecture, Tokyo has the most at 550,608 (13.7% of the national total).
Data updated Oct 3, 2026
The question
How are Japan's private-sector business establishments (excluding public administration) distributed across major industries and prefectures?
What was measured
Nationwide totals from the Statistics Bureau of Japan's 2024 Economic Census (Basic Survey, private establishments). Sole-proprietor establishments with no employees are excluded. Counted by establishment (workplace), not by company — a company with multiple locations is counted once per location. Public administration (national and local government bodies) is excluded.
Key figures
Private establishments (nationwide)
4,023,941
2024 Economic Census, all industries combined
Largest industry
Wholesale and Retail Trade — 24.0%
964,106 of 4,023,941 nationwide
Largest prefecture
Tokyo — 13.7%
550,608 establishments, all industries
Combined share, the 16 prefectures Hashike tracks
56.0%
Hashike's own coverage is limited to prefectures where US federal notices name a place of performance (mostly US bases and installations) — 16 of Japan's 47 prefectures.
The data
- Wholesale and Retail Trade
- 964,106 (24.0%)
- Medical, Health Care and Welfare
- 433,229 (10.8%)
- Construction
- 400,342 (9.9%)
- Accommodations, Eating and Drinking Services
- 371,131 (9.2%)
- Services, n.e.c.
- 323,469 (8.0%)
- Manufacturing
- 316,194 (7.9%)
- Real Estate and Goods Rental and Leasing
- 280,462 (7.0%)
- Scientific Research, Professional and Technical Services
- 228,153 (5.7%)
Share of the national total, 4,023,941 establishments
- Tokyo
- 550,608 (13.7%)
- Osaka
- 306,207 (7.6%)
- Kanagawa
- 236,749 (5.9%)
- Hokkaido
- 169,567 (4.2%)
- Fukuoka
- 168,108 (4.2%)
- Hyogo
- 153,445 (3.8%)
- Shizuoka
- 121,331 (3.0%)
- Hiroshima
- 95,777 (2.4%)
- Kyoto
- 82,532 (2.1%)
- Miyagi
- 75,555 (1.9%)
- Niigata
- 75,372 (1.9%)
- Kagoshima
- 52,536 (1.3%)
- Okinawa
- 43,822 (1.1%)
- Yamaguchi
- 43,149 (1.1%)
- Nagasaki
- 41,619 (1.0%)
- Aomori
- 38,935 (1.0%)
Share of the national total, 4,023,941 establishments
| Industry | Establishments | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Wholesale and Retail Trade | 964,106 | 23.96% |
| Medical, Health Care and Welfare | 433,229 | 10.77% |
| Construction | 400,342 | 9.95% |
| Accommodations, Eating and Drinking Services | 371,131 | 9.22% |
| Services, n.e.c. | 323,469 | 8.04% |
| Manufacturing | 316,194 | 7.86% |
| Real Estate and Goods Rental and Leasing | 280,462 | 6.97% |
| Scientific Research, Professional and Technical Services | 228,153 | 5.67% |
| Living-Related and Personal Services and Amusement Services | 224,097 | 5.57% |
| Transport and Postal Activities | 120,026 | 2.98% |
| Education, Learning Support | 108,494 | 2.70% |
| Information and Communications | 85,992 | 2.14% |
| Finance and Insurance | 80,154 | 1.99% |
| Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries | 44,204 | 1.10% |
| Compound Services | 30,226 | 0.75% |
| Electricity, Gas, Heat Supply and Water | 12,079 | 0.30% |
| Mining and Quarrying of Stone and Gravel | 1,583 | 0.04% |
Categories follow the Japan Standard Industrial Classification (JSIC) major groups, including agriculture/forestry/fisheries (AB).
How to read this
Wholesale and Retail Trade has the most establishments of any category, at 24.0% of the national total. That reflects how many separate storefronts and wholesale outlets exist, not necessarily which industry is largest by revenue or employment — establishment count and economic weight are different measures.
The 16 prefectures Hashike covers (where US federal notices name a place of performance, mostly US bases and installations) account for 56.0% of Japan's private establishments nationwide. That's useful scale context for the commercial base around those installations — it is not a claim that US-related contracting opportunity is proportional to establishment count in any given prefecture.
These are e-Stat's own published totals by industry and region — a separate population from any company, opportunity, or award Hashike has actually observed. Hashike's Japan-side data does not currently carry a structured industry or prefecture code that would let the two be matched up.
Sources
- Statistics Bureau of Japan — 2024 Economic Census, Basic Survey, table ID 0004040082 (e-Stat)
This service uses API functions from e-Stat, however its contents are not guaranteed by government.
Method
- Figures are fetched from the Statistics Bureau of Japan's own API (e-Stat API spec 3.0) — industry major group x prefecture establishment counts. Management-organization, single/head-office/branch, and employee-size are all taken at their combined-total level.
What this does not tell you
- Sole-proprietor establishments with no employees are not counted here — the true total number of business establishments is higher than the figures shown.
- "Establishment" counts workplaces, not companies. A national chain operating many locations is counted once per location, not once for the company.
- The prefectures Hashike tracks were selected because US federal notices name them as a place of performance (mostly US bases and installations, plus sites such as Japan Self-Defense Force bases where DoD contracts are performed), not because of their economic size or establishment count.