Corporate bankruptcies in Japan hit 11-year high in April

By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - The number of companies going bankrupt in Japan this April reached the highest level since 2014, according to a new report by Tokyo Shoko Research.

The number of corporate bankruptcies across Japan last month rose 5.7% to 828 compared to the same period of the previous year, said the report, released on Monday.

Among the sectors analyzed, the services sector saw the highest number of bankruptcies with 292 companies.

The construction sector ranked second with 152 companies followed by the retail sector with 106.

The report said that small- and medium-sized enterprises had difficulty accessing sufficient human resources due to their inability to keep up with wage increases at large companies.

"Amid rising prices, rising labor costs, and rising interest burdens, the sudden Trump tariffs have increased uncertainty," it said, referring to US President Donald Trump’s sharply higher tariffs, announced last month.

Total debt also exceeded 100 billion yen ($675.6 million) for the first time in two months, but in April it was below the previous year for the second consecutive year.

"Furthermore, if rice shortages and rice prices continue to remain high, there are concerns that this will have an impact on restaurants and rice wholesalers, as well as on personal consumption. For this reason, corporate bankruptcies are likely to continue to increase, with fluctuations in numbers, mainly due to companies running out of steam as their performance recovery is delayed," the report added.