Japan Bankruptcies Fell 20% in May

The number of corporate bankruptcies in Japan fell 20.2 percent in May from a year earlier to 834, slipping below 900 in the month for the first time in 23 years, a credit research agency said Monday.

The plunge was attributable to monetary support by governmental and private financial institutions for cash-strapped small and medium-sized companies, according to a survey by Tokyo Shoko Research covering business failures with debts of 10 million yen or more.

Total liabilities left by the bankrupt companies in the reporting month declined 0.4 percent to 172.64 billion yen, as the business failures were mostly small in scale with debts of less than 100 million yen.

In the retail sector, the number of corporate bankruptcies declined for the first time in two months, despite the consumption tax hike in April, but the figure increased among retailers of clothing for women and children as well as books and stationery.

The number of business failures also dropped 32.6 percent from a year earlier to 169 in the construction sector, declining for the 27th consecutive month, backed by public work projects. In the manufacturing sector, the number of bankruptcies fell for the 10th straight month to 131.

via Mainichi

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