Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's victory in the snap Lower House election earlier this month, an endorsement of his economic policies, may help the nation's biggest companies get richer while extending a surge in bankruptcies among smaller ones.
Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. are expected to post record profit this year after the policies known as "Abenomics" weakened the yen, boosting their earnings from overseas. Aggregate net income at 196 of the largest listed companies will rise to a record ¥18 trillion ($151 billion) this fiscal year, based on a survey of analyst estimates.
At the same time, the number of Japanese companies citing the weaker yen among the reasons for going bankrupt has almost tripled this year as surging costs of imported food, metals and construction materials squeeze small businesses, said Teikoku Databank Ltd.