Japan Business Failures Grow 6.6％ in 2022

Jiji Press

9:00 JST, January 15, 2023

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The number of corporate bankruptcies in Japan in 2022 rose 6.6% from the previous year to 6,428, the first increase in three years, credit research firm Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd. said Friday.

Total liabilities left by failed companies increased 2.6% to ¥2.33 trillion, the first rise in five years, driven higher by the bankruptcy of auto parts maker Marelli Holdings Co., Tokyo Shoko said.

The data covered business failures involving liabilities of ¥10 million or more.

The number of companies that went bust due to higher prices surged 130% to 320, Teikoku Databank Ltd., another credit research firm, said.

Companies have been struggling with repayments of COVID-19 relief loans as well as soaring raw material prices.

The number of inflation-driven business failures shot up by between 160% and 300%, to 70 in the construction sector, 64 in the transportation sector and 34 in the retail sector.

A growing number of small and midsize companies have been facing difficulty passing on higher costs to clients in full.