It is something that is has become a developing theme on the GaijinPot blogs. In the face of an aging and shrinking domestic population, Japanese companies and the government are now joining hands to explore new business opportunities targeting the world’s low-income population not only in neighboring Asia but also in Africa.

Having gotten off to a late start, Japan is trying to catch up with its European and U.S. peers in this field, but faces difficulties such as in securing enough cosmopolitan Japanese staff with the necessary language skills for the job.

The ‘‘bottom of the pyramid’’ low-income group — some 4 billion people who earn less than $3,000 a year — make up about 70% of the world population. While their purchasing power per capita is low, collectively the market is worth about $5 trillion and rivals Japan’s nominal gross domestic product.

Japanese corporations are starting to reach out to the African market, where they have until now had relatively little exposure, in hopes of benefiting from economic growth in countries seen as the next tier of emerging markets. Some companies also consider their business in this area as a form of social contribution that can help promote their brand image.

For example, major food maker Ajinomoto Co launched in 2009 a nutritional improvement project in Ghana in cooperation with the University of Ghana and a U.S. non-profit organization to develop and promote nutritional supplements to add to traditional weaning food used in the West African country.

Ghana faces a grave problem of malnutrition among young children, with child mortality under 5 years old as high as 76 per 1,000, 19 times that of Japan’s. Fermented maize porridge, the traditional meal for weaning infants in Ghana, is seen as a major factor stunting children’s development due to its lack of protein and micronutrients.

With full-scale production and marketing of the new product expected to begin in 2012, Ajinomoto plans to eventually expand its sales to Nigeria and other neighboring African nations.

Yozo Nakao, associate general manager of Ajinomoto’s Corporate Social Responsibility Department, said this kind of business initiative not only benefits the company, but can also contribute to reducing under-5 child mortality, which is one of the United Nations’ 2015 Millennium Development Goals.

‘‘Profits may be small, but business (which contributes to society) will help make our brand more widely known,’’ Nakao said.

Other examples include Sumitomo Chemical Co, which sells insecticidal mosquito nets in Africa to help reduce the number of people contracting malaria, and Yamaha Motor Co, which sells motorcycles and outboard motors to the poor.

Overall, however, Japanese firms still lag behind their European and U.S. counterparts in this area. This prompted the Ministry of Trade, Economy and Industry to launch in October a public-private partnership called the Bottom of the Pyramid Business Promotion Platform to support enterprises seeking to enter the field.

‘‘It is important for companies to start making their approach (into the business) now in order to be well positioned when the BOP group becomes the middle class (with stronger purchasing power) in the future,’’ said a senior METI official, who asked not to be named.

The private sector welcomes the government’s support. Ajinomoto’s Nakao said, ‘‘This is very reassuring especially when trying to start a business in regions like Africa where infrastructure is fragile and information is scarce.’‘

Meanwhile, one of the biggest hurdles that companies first have to overcome seems to remain in their home turf—the lack of qualified staff as fewer and fewer young Japanese have been eager to study abroad or be posted overseas in recent years.

‘‘The inward-looking mindset among the younger generation these days is a cause of concern as this kind of job needs people with a vibrant personality who are creative,’’ said Kimihiko Inaba, principal investigative researcher at the Japan External Trade Organization and an expert on the BOP business.

Photo Credit: Steve Nagata / Flickr