It's coming up to that time of year again, the long post-Christmas New Years break when days not spent in the company of relatives you can't stand are wiled away in front of the television airing programs you can't stand even more. Traditionally, that makes it one of the biggest seasons for the rental video business; or, at least, it used to. The industry has been in a progressive slump since it peaked more than a decade ago.

According to industry group Japan Video Software Association, the number of stores in Japan peaked in 1990, when it stood at 13,529. In 2012 there were only 3,648, a drop of three-fourths. In terms of revenues the biggest year for rental videos was 2004, when the industry took in ¥258.4 billion. It has decreased by about ¥100 billion since then.

A recent article in the Mainichi Shimbun quoted a 41-year-old owner of a rental video store in Yokohama who said that he used to run two other shops but had to close both. There's not enough demand for him to be able to afford all the new movies coming out on DVD or Blu-Ray, and it's new titles that have driven rentals in the past. He remembers the days when he could charge ¥1,000 for a new movie for two days, but since then prices have dropped drastically, mainly due to competition from major national chains.