Japan's corporate bankruptcies rise 4.89% in April

The number of Japanese corporate bankruptcies rose 4.89 percent in May from the same time a year earlier, marking the first increase since July 2009, due to the fallout of the March 11 twin disasters, data from Tokyo Shoko Research showed Wednesday.


The credit research agency said that in the recording period there were 1,071 corporate failures, of which 64 cases were directly attributable to the quake and tsunami, with post-March 11 bankruptcies now totaling 156 cases.


"Excessive restraint among consumers after the earthquake, supply disruptions and a drastic change in environment were big reasons for the increase in May," Tokyo Shoko's report stated. " While production at large companies is steadily rebounding, the outlook for small- and medium-sized companies will probably be different," it said.


Outstanding debts from the bankrupt firms fell 23.72 percent to 252.67 billion yen (3.15 billion U.S. dollars), with companies with 1 billion yen or more in debts dropping 13.6 percent, while firms with less than 100 million yen comprised 72.5 percent of the entire amount, the report said.


The data showed that small-cap firms have suffered to a greater extent than large corporations in the wake of the disasters and amid ongoing economic hardship in Japan.


Tokyo Shoko had previously said that the number of corporate failures in Japan would likely increase towards the summer.
(Source:http://news.xinhuanet.com)