[Interviews with 118 Companies] Business Succession Comes 'Suddenly': Connect's 1st Anniversary Report
Kokopelli Inc.'s web media 'Connect' released a report based on interviews with 118 SMEs, revealing the reality that business succession often happens 'suddenly' without preparation.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 15, 2026 at 18:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 15, 2026 at 09:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 19, 2026 at 14:03 (100h 31m after Collected)
'Connect', a web media for small and medium-sized enterprises operated by Kokopelli Inc. (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director & CEO: Shigeru Kondo), will release a three-part factual report based on interviews conducted with 118 companies nationwide to commemorate its 1st anniversary in March 2026. The theme of the second part is 'Business Succession'. The report reveals that business succession, often assumed to be something done 'gradually while preparing', actually comes 'suddenly' for many business owners. We report on three succession patterns observed through our interviews.
Survey Overview
- Survey Name: Connect 1st Anniversary Report 'The Reality of Regional SMEs' Vol.2
- Survey Period: March 2025 - March 2026
- Target: SME owners and representatives of 118 companies nationwide (primarily Big Advance member companies)
- Survey Method: Individual interviews face-to-face and online (60-90 minutes each)
- Industries: Diverse, including food manufacturing, manufacturing, retail, nursing care/welfare, dining, IT, and shipbuilding-related.
The 'True Face' of Business Succession — Three Patterns
Pattern 1: The 'Suddenly One Day' Type — Forced to become a representative due to a parent's sudden illness
'While dealing with red ink and various debts, my father suddenly collapsed. I didn't know what to do. I was a complete amateur.' (Representative of a noodle manufacturing company)
The current representative of a noodle manufacturing company founded over 30 years ago was forced to succeed the business when his father suddenly collapsed while he was working as a salesperson at another company. What he inherited was red ink, debt, and a state of knowing nothing. He had to deal with it all by himself from scratch.
Successions that happen 'suddenly one day' due to sudden illness or death were cases seen in multiple companies. The rush and confusion immediately following the handover were common to all these cases.
Pattern 2: The 'Realized I Had Succeeded' Type — Returning home pushed by circumstances, with zero preparation as a manager
'I hated it, honestly. Well, I can say now that I felt I could run away anytime.' (Representative of a bag manufacturing company)
The representative of a bag manufacturing company returned home for 'half-nursing care' while harboring a dream of becoming a sushi chef. After returning, he set up a production line himself and found a way out by fusing with a different industry amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. In his words, 'I don't want to say this happened because of COVID. I want to become a company that could change thanks to COVID', one can see a manager who created his own meaning from a passive return home.
'It seems my father was also unsure whether to end the business with his generation. I didn't study on the premise of succeeding, and I didn't enter the company with the intention of quitting my previous job.' (Representative of a plastics manufacturing company)
In one manufacturing company, the return home and succession proceeded vaguely under circumstances where the predecessor himself was hesitant about continuing the business.
A commonality observed through the interviews was that in many cases, the premise of 'wanting them to succeed' or 'they might succeed someday' was not clearly stated between parent and child.
Pattern 3: The 'Working Backwards to Return' Type — A good example of succeeding after building skills
'I thought it was no good without strengths. Business is like multiplication, so I thought about what I could do when I returned to this job, and decided to succeed after acquiring expertise in accounting.' (Representative of a meat business)
The current representative of a butcher shop dealing in Wagyu beef returned home after building a 5-year career as a certified public accountant at an audit firm. Thinking that 'Accounting is a common language applicable to any company. You can see the best practices of various companies,' he faced the succession by intentionally creating his own 'axis of multiplication' beforehand.
What is noteworthy is that managers who started moving by designing 'what to learn before succeeding' like this were extremely few among the 118 companies interviewed. Even if there was a premise that they 'might succeed', cases where they specifically prepared were just a handful. That is exactly where the reality of business succession lies.
From the Connect Editorial Department
During the interviews, when we asked, 'Did you originally intend to succeed?', we received the answer 'I had no such intention' many times. The premise that business succession is something 'you face after preparation' wavered the more we conducted interviews.
On the other hand, there is the fact that these managers are still running their companies today. Finding their own meaning amidst a succession that started suddenly, and moving forward little by little—the editorial department believes that this experience itself is the best hint for managers in the same position.
Also, the careers of the managers who 'succeeded after building skills'...
Survey Overview
- Survey Name: Connect 1st Anniversary Report 'The Reality of Regional SMEs' Vol.2
- Survey Period: March 2025 - March 2026
- Target: SME owners and representatives of 118 companies nationwide (primarily Big Advance member companies)
- Survey Method: Individual interviews face-to-face and online (60-90 minutes each)
- Industries: Diverse, including food manufacturing, manufacturing, retail, nursing care/welfare, dining, IT, and shipbuilding-related.
The 'True Face' of Business Succession — Three Patterns
Pattern 1: The 'Suddenly One Day' Type — Forced to become a representative due to a parent's sudden illness
'While dealing with red ink and various debts, my father suddenly collapsed. I didn't know what to do. I was a complete amateur.' (Representative of a noodle manufacturing company)
The current representative of a noodle manufacturing company founded over 30 years ago was forced to succeed the business when his father suddenly collapsed while he was working as a salesperson at another company. What he inherited was red ink, debt, and a state of knowing nothing. He had to deal with it all by himself from scratch.
Successions that happen 'suddenly one day' due to sudden illness or death were cases seen in multiple companies. The rush and confusion immediately following the handover were common to all these cases.
Pattern 2: The 'Realized I Had Succeeded' Type — Returning home pushed by circumstances, with zero preparation as a manager
'I hated it, honestly. Well, I can say now that I felt I could run away anytime.' (Representative of a bag manufacturing company)
The representative of a bag manufacturing company returned home for 'half-nursing care' while harboring a dream of becoming a sushi chef. After returning, he set up a production line himself and found a way out by fusing with a different industry amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. In his words, 'I don't want to say this happened because of COVID. I want to become a company that could change thanks to COVID', one can see a manager who created his own meaning from a passive return home.
'It seems my father was also unsure whether to end the business with his generation. I didn't study on the premise of succeeding, and I didn't enter the company with the intention of quitting my previous job.' (Representative of a plastics manufacturing company)
In one manufacturing company, the return home and succession proceeded vaguely under circumstances where the predecessor himself was hesitant about continuing the business.
A commonality observed through the interviews was that in many cases, the premise of 'wanting them to succeed' or 'they might succeed someday' was not clearly stated between parent and child.
Pattern 3: The 'Working Backwards to Return' Type — A good example of succeeding after building skills
'I thought it was no good without strengths. Business is like multiplication, so I thought about what I could do when I returned to this job, and decided to succeed after acquiring expertise in accounting.' (Representative of a meat business)
The current representative of a butcher shop dealing in Wagyu beef returned home after building a 5-year career as a certified public accountant at an audit firm. Thinking that 'Accounting is a common language applicable to any company. You can see the best practices of various companies,' he faced the succession by intentionally creating his own 'axis of multiplication' beforehand.
What is noteworthy is that managers who started moving by designing 'what to learn before succeeding' like this were extremely few among the 118 companies interviewed. Even if there was a premise that they 'might succeed', cases where they specifically prepared were just a handful. That is exactly where the reality of business succession lies.
From the Connect Editorial Department
During the interviews, when we asked, 'Did you originally intend to succeed?', we received the answer 'I had no such intention' many times. The premise that business succession is something 'you face after preparation' wavered the more we conducted interviews.
On the other hand, there is the fact that these managers are still running their companies today. Finding their own meaning amidst a succession that started suddenly, and moving forward little by little—the editorial department believes that this experience itself is the best hint for managers in the same position.
Also, the careers of the managers who 'succeeded after building skills'...