Corporate News
uSonar Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Chairman: Nami Fukutomi; President: Katsuhito Nagatake; hereinafter "uSonar") is pleased to announce that it has updated its corporate data items to comply with the "Japan Standard Industrial Classification (notified in July 2023)" enacted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in April 2024. Following the Ministry's first revision in 10 years, uSonar has updated its provided data (LBC) accordingly. In addition, we have revised our proprietary "Ryo-Gyoshu" classification, which consists of 779 industry categories developed by uSonar to meet specific corporate needs. uSonar remains committed to providing data based on highly useful industry classifications while maintaining compliance with standard industrial categories.
What Is the Japan Standard Industrial Classification?
The Japan Standard Industrial Classification was established in 1949. Currently, all industries in Japan are divided into approximately 1,455 categories. It is used as a standard for official statistics and influences a wide range of corporate practices, including the classification and aggregation of business partners.
This is the first revision in approximately 10 years since the previous one in 2013, and the new classification was enacted in April 2024. For more details, please visit the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications website.
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Website: https://www.soumu.go.jp/toukei_toukatsu/index/seido/sangyo/R05index.htm
Explanation of Key Revision Points in the Japan Standard Industrial Classification and Resulting Changes to Our Corporate Codes
We believe this revision reflects changes in the socio-economic landscape, such as decarbonization, amendments to the Electricity Business Act, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Below are examples of the main revision points.
- The classification category "Electric Furnace and Electric Heating Equipment Manufacturing" has been newly established to track decarbonization initiatives and related activities.
- 100-yen shops and similar businesses are now addressed. "Uniform Price Stores," which previously lacked a specific example and were scattered across multiple categories in the last industrial classification revision, have been newly established.
- Following the amendment of the Electricity Business Act and the full liberalization of electricity retail, electricity business types have been broadly categorized into "Power Generation," "Power Transmission and Distribution," and "Electricity Retail." Consequently, "Power Plants" and "Substations" have been divided into "Power Generation Industry," "Power Transmission and Distribution Industry," "Electricity Retail Industry," and "Electricity Wholesale Industry."
- In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the "Pest Control Industry" has been newly established to track trends as a specialized field of public health.
uSonar's proprietary industry classification, the highly acclaimed "Ryo-Gyoshu" (Optimized Industry Classification), is also available.
As mentioned above, while the Japan Standard Industrial Classification accurately and minutely categorizes all industries, it has been criticized for being difficult to use in business practice due to an excessive number of "Other" categories and the long interval between revisions—typically every 10 years—which makes it difficult to classify emerging industries. For this reason, our company has long developed and provided our own proprietary industry classification, "Ryo-Gyoshu." Ryo-Gyoshu consists of 779 industry categories (as of February 1, 2023).
- Consolidating sub-classification industries from the Japan Standard Industrial Classification that are considered too granular into formats better suited for the business environment.
- Dividing industries that are grouped together in the Japan Standard Industrial Classification but require further segmentation due to rapid growth.
- Ryo-Gyoshu is established by referencing social norms, business environments, news information, industry associations, and business licenses. We flexibly consider integration and division as business structures and market conditions evolve.
