OSAKA -- Apparel wholesaler Asakurashoji Co. has applied for court protection from creditors under a fast-track corporate rehabilitation law, a private research institute said Monday.
Competition in the domestic necktie market has been intensifying amid surging imports from China, and the Nishijin Textile Industrial Association, a group of Kyoto-based necktie makers, is preparing to petition the government to invoke emergency curbs.
Asakurashoji, saddled with liabilities of some 4 billion yen, filed for protection with the Osaka District Court, Teikoku Databank Ltd. said.