The 2024 Payment Practices Barometer survey for Japan was conducted during Q3 2024, and findings should therefore be viewed with this in mind.

Key takeaways from the report for Japan

Stable B2B payment trends hide cash flow risks for Japanese companies

• Despite this relatively stable payment behaviour, late payments from B2B credit customers continue to pose a significant challenge to companies in Japan. An average
  45% of B2B invoices are currently overdue, while bad debts stand at an average 6% of all B2B invoices, with a potentially severe impact on financial health.
   
• The main reasons for late payments are inefficient payment processes, customer cashflow problems and invoice disputes. Overdue invoices are currently paid on average one month beyond the due date. A widespread response by Japanese companies is delaying payments to their own suppliers, risking a domino effect.

Japanese companies expect a more challenging financial environment ahead

• 52% of businesses in Japan, particularly in the steel/metals industry, tell us they expect an increase in insolvency risk among their B2B credit customers during the year ahead. The rest are split between companies anticipating no change in insolvency risk and those
  cautious about making predictions.
   
• The potential impact of challenging economic conditions is the major concern looking ahead for Japanese companies. Even minor economic changes can have significant repercussions for textile/clothing companies sensitive to fluctuations in consumer spending. Cybersecurity threats are also a widespread worry.

The Atradius Payment Practices Barometer is an annual survey of business-to-business (B2B) payment practices in markets across the world. Its findings can give valuable insights into the current dynamics of corporate payment behaviour in B2B trade. It can also help companies doing business, or planning to do so, in the markets polled to identify emerging future trends in the payment practices of B2B customers. 

Interested in finding out more?

For a complete overview of the 2024 survey results for Japan, please download the full report available in the related documents section below. The regional report for Asia is also available for download in the section below.

All content on this page is subject to our Disclaimer, available here.