Debts left by failed companies amounted to 2.53 trillion yen in the April-September period, the lowest figure for a fiscal first half since fiscal 1991, a credit research agency said Monday.
The April-September debts dropped 12.7 percent from a year earlier, the sixth consecutive decline for a first half, as the number of large business failures leaving debts of 1 billion yen fell to 327, the lowest in 10 years, Tokyo Shoko Research said.
The figures show a declining trend in corporate failures thanks to the economic recovery, government assistance to smaller firms and easier lending terms from public financial institutions, it said.