As many as 50 inquiries a day were made to the InterRisk Research Institute & Consulting, a think tank affiliated with Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group Holdings Inc., during the recent Golden Week holiday period.
The institute said it has received many inquiries from small companies on whether they should continue operations in the event of a widespread domestic infection from the new flu.
In a survey conducted by the institute on all listed companies in February, only 30 percent of 620 companies which responded to the survey said they have worked out measures against the new flu.
If combined with small companies, the rate would be much lower, according to the institute.
In late April, the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency began distributing pamphlets about the Business Continuity Plan as a guideline for the business activities of small firms at the time of the new flu outbreak.
The agency has distributed about 90,000 copies to meet demand from local municipalities and chambers of commerce and industry, which are handing them out to local businesses.
As the agency's survey conducted last year showed that just 2 percent of small companies know about the BCP, an agency official said that top officials of such firms should know of the BCP's basic measures.
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