ついつい誰かに話したくなってしまう日本のこと。
今回は日本企業をフカボリ！『老舗』を説明してみましょう。

まずはKey Words & Phrasesから。

テーマに関連する語句

long-established company（老舗企業）　
century-old（百年経った・百歳の）　
millennium-old（千年経った・千歳の）　
with a history of over _ years（＿年の歴史を持った）
world’s oldest（世界最古の）
long-lasting（長続きする）

一般的な語句

the world’s largest number of（世界最多の～）
same applies to（～にも同じことが言える・当てはまる）
overwhelmingly（圧倒的に）
account for（～を占める）
make up the majority of （～の大半を占める）
specialized in（～を専門にしている）
popularize（～を世に広める）
subsidiary（子会社）
involved with（～と関わっている）
diligence（勤勉・絶え間ない努力）
mindset（考え方・考えの傾向）
generate（～を生み出す）

続いて、今回のテーマに挑戦！

Did you know that Japan has the world’s largest number of long-established companies?（日本の老舗企業の数は世界最多って知ってましたか？）

・Japan is well known as a country with long living people, and the same applies to businesses.
・An amazing number of companies have existed for a century or more in Japan, which is overwhelmingly large compared with other countries. According to a certain survey, Japanese businesses account for over 40 percent of companies with a history of over 100 years. 　
・In addition to that, the world’s oldest company is also in Japan, which was established in the 6th century.
・In Japan, many companies live a long time as well as the people.

3 Questions for Digging Deeper! 《 もっと掘り下げてみよう！ 》

What areas of business are the long-established companies in?
（どんな分野が老舗企業には多いの？）

Generally, manufacturers, retailers and wholesalers tend to exist for a very long time and they make up the majority of century-old companies. Incidentally, some of the long-established companies are over-millennium-old and they include construction companies, hotels and a tea house.

What business does the oldest company operate?（最古の会社は何をやっている企業なの？）

The world’s oldest company operated a construction business specialized in building temples and shrines. Originally, the company was established by one of the carpenters who built a temple called “Shitenno-ji” in Osaka. Shitenno-ji is regarded as the first temple which was officially administered and it was said to be built in order to popularize Buddhism. Although the company is technically no longer active, as they became a subsidiary of another construction company, they are still involved with their original business.

Why does Japan hold so many long-established companies? （日本に老舗企業が多い理由は？）

One of the possible reasons would be that people were able to concentrate on business activity as Japan enjoyed a relatively peaceful time for a long time. What is more, the Japanese citizens respect tradition and diligence. These mindsets probably produce power to continue a business for a longer time and generate a number of long-lasting businesses.

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