TOKYO — In Japan, more fitness clubs are closing down this fiscal year, even though more people are interested in staying healthy.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic ending, the number of fitness clubs going out of business is growing. A company called Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd. says that this fiscal year, 28 fitness clubs had gone bankrupt by February. This is already more than the 16 clubs that closed in fiscal 2022, which was the highest number ever recorded. Even though more people want to stay fit, many clubs that aren’t doing well are closing down quickly.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry says that the number of people going to fitness clubs had been increasing every year until 2018, when it reached a high of 256 million. But because of COVID-19, fewer people were going, with only 171.58 million users in 2020. As things got better, more people started going back to the gym, reaching 216.79 million users in 2023, which was a 3% increase from the previous year.

But according to Tokyo Shoko Research, the way fitness clubs are run has changed recently. There are two main types of clubs: big clubs that cost more but offer lots of equipment and trainers, and smaller clubs that cost less but have fewer options. Now, there are even cheaper gyms like “chocoZAP” by Rizap, a big fitness company. These gyms are low-cost and members can use them anywhere in Japan. So, there’s more competition for gym members.

All 28 gyms that closed by February this year were small businesses with less than 100 million yen (about $670,000) in capital. Seven of them owed more than 100 million yen. Tokyo Shoko Research says that many of these businesses have closed permanently. They say that trying to make quick money from the fitness boom has hurt these businesses.

Also, running a gym has become more expensive lately because things like electricity, staff salaries, and equipment costs are going up. When fewer people sign up for memberships, the gym’s money situation gets worse quickly. Tokyo Shoko Research thinks that more gyms will close down in the future because of these problems.

The research company analyzed gyms that owed more than 10 million yen (about $67,000).

(Japanese original by Yuko Shimada, Business News Department)

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