My Family Business Faces Closure. Should I Pack up My Life and Head Back Home?

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:53 JST, November 23, 2025

Dear Troubleshooter:

I’m a female part-time worker in my 40s. My parents have been running a printing company in a regional town for about 40 years. The business has had several employees, and my older brother and older sister also worked there. In spring, my brother suddenly fell ill and passed away.

He was in his 50s, single and living with my parents, and I thought he was going to take over the family business. My sister, meanwhile, is in her 40s and raising her children near the family home.

My elderly parents are getting sick or injured more frequently, and my sister, who has a strong sense of responsibility, is not doing well mentally due to worrying about the company’s future.

She said that she may have to close the business down. My father seems reluctant to do that, but none of the employees want to take it over.

Being the youngest in the family, I’m considering having to return to my hometown, but my husband wouldn’t be able to find another job straight away. Furthermore, our child, who will be starting elementary school next year, doesn’t want to move to a new place. I’ve arranged with my husband for a company to mediate the succession of the business. I’ve even suggested to my sister that she quit. However, nothing has progressed past that.

I love my family dearly and am nothing but grateful to my parents, yet I’m still hesitant to make the decision and feel heartless. What should I do?

— P, Tokyo

Dear Ms. P:

I sense that your true concern lies in the fact that you are seeking advice from this column, rather than in purely seeking business consultation.

The sudden passing of your brother must have been difficult for everyone in your family. I’m sure you already know this well, but it’s important to separate those feelings from what needs to be done for the company’s future. The owner is elderly and nearing retirement with nobody willing to take over the management. Moreover, your sister has reached her emotional limit.

While you’re thinking about returning to your family home, you and your husband are actually searching for a company to take over the business, and you are talking to your sister about quitting.

That would seem to suggest that you don’t really want to go back, right? Your husband also seems unwilling to quit his current job. This means it is difficult to devote yourself to your parents and the family business if it means sacrificing your husband and child.

It’s not that you’re ungrateful. The unfortunate truth is that, due to a lack of successors, there are many small business owners across the country facing similar realities. Your parents surely understand your feelings. The decision now rests with them and your sister. All you can do is express your appreciation for all three of them, as they have worked tirelessly for so many years, and support whatever decision they make.

— Hazuki Saisho, writer