Details emerged Wednesday about significant debts faced by a kimono rental firm that went bust just before Coming-of-Age Day ceremonies, leaving scores of women celebrating adulthood without their formal attire.
The Yokohama-based company, Harenohi, was behind on payments, a credit research firm said, with a sharp increase in delays over the last six months. Unpaid bills were said to go back as far as a year.
"Harenohi's finances must have worsened well before the payment delays," said an official from the credit research company. "The firm should have been able to predict its bankruptcy, so it seems malicious that it waited" this long to cease operations.