Japanese firms nationwide spent 4.39 trillion yen on entertainment, gifts and other expenses in the year through last Jan. 31, marking a 13.3 percent drop from the previous year, according to a government survey released Thursday.
This constituted the largest year-to-year decline on record.
The survey, conducted by the National Tax Administration Agency, also showed that 69.9 percent of Japanese companies were in a deficit in the year under review, marking a seventh consecutive year in which a larger percentage of companies reported losses compared with the previous year.
The continuing economic slump allied to worsening company returns and the impact of restructuring have apparently forced companies into drastic cutbacks on entertainment.
The survey was based on tax returns and other official reports filed by 48,190 companies -- a cross section chosen in terms of capitalization and business sectors out of 2.53 million companies throughout Japan.
According to the National Tax Administration, Japanese companies spent 2.88 yen on entertainment per 1,000 yen of revenue, the second-lowest figure since 1961, when the agency started conducting the annual survey.
On an industry basis, construction firms ranked highest with 1.016 trillion yen, an average of 6.54 yen per 1,000 yen of revenue.
Company donations totaled 483 billion yen, down 10.8 billion yen from the previous year. Miscellaneous donations, including political contributions, however, rose 0.9 percent to 340.3 billion yen.