Japan: 1,100 go bankrupt as pandemic ravages businesses

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) – At least 1,100 companies in Japan have gone bankrupt as the COVID-19 pandemic batters the world's third-largest economy, local media reported on Wednesday.

Teikoku Databank, a Japanese credit research firm, said 1,100 companies had "completed or were preparing" for legal liquidation, according to NHK News.

At 172, bars and restaurants topped the list of businesses going under, followed by 92 construction firms and 79 hotels and inns, the report said.
Tokyo has seen 264 bankruptcies, while Osaka and Kanagawa provinces have 108 and 64, respectively.

The study found a "noticeable increase in bars and restaurants in urban areas under the government's state of emergency declaration," the report added.

With Japan's economic growth rate hitting alarming lows in the pandemic's aftermath, the government has taken several steps to keep markets running.

Tokyo authorities are looking to continue the state of emergency in the area, which ends on March 7, for at least two more weeks.

An extension in the state of emergency in Tokyo and its three neighboring provinces will make a long-term decline in personal spending inevitable, the study warned.

According to data from the US-based Johns Hopkins University, Japan's overall COVID-19 caseload currently stands at 434,124, including 8,014 deaths.