Tag - bankruptcy

 
Menu
Search
 
June 07, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

BANKRUPTCY

Many curry shops are going bankrupt in Japan as prices of mainstay ingredients have gone up due to a rice shortage, adverse weather and a weak yen.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 6, 2025
Soaring rice prices take a bite out of Japan's beloved curry shops
A total of 13 shops with more than ¥10 million in debt filed for bankruptcy in the year ended March — a record high for a second consecutive year.
The number of "zombie companies" in Japan, which do not make enough to cover their interest payments, was estimated to have grown some 228,000 in fiscal 2023, one of the highest in a decade.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jun 3, 2025
'Zombie company' apocalypse might be the point of Japan's minimum wage push
Government efforts to accelerate the pace of pay increases could lead to poorly performing companies going out of business.
Kimihiro Matsuzaki prepares dishes at his half-century-old restaurant, Yanagi, in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Jun 2, 2025
Profitable Fukushima companies closing due to lack of successors
According to Teikoku Databank, more than a third of the companies that went out of business in the prefecture in 2024 were in the black.
A Musee Platinum hair removal salon in the city of Saitama on Monday
BUSINESS / Companies
May 19, 2025
Hair removal chain Musee Platinum owes ¥1.5 billion, say former staff
More than 2,000 former employees of the company went unpaid between January and April.
The number of business failures due to labor shortages grew to 36 from 25 a year before, while the number of bankruptcies because of inflation remained high, at 56, against 60.
BUSINESS
May 12, 2025
Japan business failures hit 11-year high for April
More failures were seen mainly among smaller companies with weak business bases as their revenue was squeezed by rising prices and higher labor costs.
A chemical plant in Mie Prefecture. The number of business failures linked to soaring labor costs and labor shortages increased 1.6 times to 309, the highest since fiscal 2013.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 8, 2025
Japan bankruptcies in fiscal 2024 hit 11-year high
The result reflected a surge in the number of bankruptcies due to labor shortages, particularly among small and midsize companies, and rising prices.
Next Generation Technology Group acquires companies in need of future leadership with competitive technologies and high margins, said Eiichi Arai, the Tokyo-based firm’s CEO.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 5, 2025
Tokyo’s first listing of the year soars in trading debut
The shares climbed as much as 58% to ¥3,165 in early trading in Tokyo on Wednesday.
The number of corporate bankruptcies with liabilities of ¥10 million or more in Japan last year marked the third consecutive year of increases as rising prices due to the yen's weakening and labor shortages caused business failures in a wide range of industries.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 14, 2025
Japan business failures top 10,000 in 2024, worst in 11 years
The annual figure marked the third consecutive year of increases as rising prices due to the yen's weakening and labor shortages caused business failures.
David Nemecek
BUSINESS
Dec 25, 2024
The star dealmakers remaking the rules of corporate debt
The world of liability management is a small, aggressive and, thus far, male-dominated corner of corporate finance.
Lawyers estimate that personal bankruptcies in Japan are on track to reach the highest since 2012 this year.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Dec 22, 2024
Bankruptcies and suicides rise as Japanese struggle with mounting debt
Personal debt is overwhelming an increasing number of Japanese as higher interest rates and the rising cost of living bite.
Aletheia Clinic had experienced rapid growth, peaking in the fiscal year ended April 2021 with annual revenue of ¥16.3 billion.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 11, 2024
Hair removal clinic chain goes bust in Japan's biggest beauty collapse
It's "extremely unlikely" that customers of Aletheia Clinic will see their money returned, according to its trustee.
The annual number of corporate bankruptices may top 10,000 for the first time in 11 years, Tokyo Shoko Research has said.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 9, 2024
Japan's corporate bankruptcies increased 4.2% in November
The number of business failures grew for the third consecutive month amid a weak yen and soaring labor costs.
Dining habits have changed since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, with alcohol consumption experiencing a drop.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 9, 2024
Hundreds of izakaya going bust as prices rise and customers change
In the first 11 months of this year, 203 of these establishments went out of business, more than the entire year of 2020 when COVID-19 became a pandemic.
The number of bankruptcies in Japan is likely to exceed 10,000 for the first time since 2013.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 9, 2024
Japan's bankruptcies set to hit 11-year high in 2024, data shows
841 Japanese companies went bankrupt in November, bringing the January-November tally to 9,164, already exceeding last year's total.
Funai Electric Chairperson Yoshiaki Harada holds a news conference in Tokyo's Chuo Ward on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 3, 2024
Funai's chairman files for its court-led rehabilitation
The court decision came after one of the company's directors filed a "quasi-voluntary bankruptcy" petition in late October.
The Northvolt facility in Skelleftea, Sweden.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 23, 2024
Northvolt crisis may be make or break for Europe's EV battery ambitions
Europe's biggest hope for an electric vehicle battery champion filed for bankruptcy protection on Thursday after talks for funding failed.
A mockup of a Northvolt battery at a factory in Skelleftea, northern Sweden. Northvolt transformed in a matter of months from Europe's best shot at a homegrown electric-vehicle battery champion to a company struggling to stay afloat.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 22, 2024
Northvolt files for bankruptcy in blow to Europe's EV ambitions
The firm said it has only enough cash to support operations for about a week.
A man walks past the Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo on Oct. 30.
BUSINESS
Nov 11, 2024
Worsening corporate mood and bankruptcies cloud BOJ's rate hike path
Some BOJ board members have voiced concerns that intensifying labor shortages could constrain growth, rather than lead to higher wages.
Funai Electric has received court approval for its bankruptcy plan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 25, 2024
Funai Electric receives approval for bankruptcy plan
Founded in 1961, the firm had boasted a significant presence in Japan and abroad as an original equipment manufacturer.
Ramen shop Menya Taisei's owner Taisei Hikage cooks ramen at his shop in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 24, 2024
Japan's rising ramen prices give election voters food for thought
The problems facing ramen shop owners reflect a cost-of-living crunch that has become a top issue for voters in the general election on Sunday.
Japan eyes tougher rules for foreign residents and tax hike for tourists
A tax-free shop in Kyoto in April 2024. Last week, members of a Liberal Democratic Party study group drafted a proposal seeking to scrap the country's tax-free shopping system altogether.
From ridicule to redemption: Rice crisis returns Koizumi to the spotlight
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks to the media as he inspects a warehouse storing stockpiled rice in Kanagawa Prefecture on May 30.
Hakuho’s departure highlights worrying sumo trend
Former <i>yokozuna</i> Hakuho performs a ring-entering ceremony at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in February 2020.
Trump and Musk trade barbs on social media as alliance crumbles
The trouble between U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk started brewing days ago, when Musk denounced Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending bill.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic
After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
New Naoshima museum bets on Asia, not the West
Detail of Takashi Murakami, “Rakuchu-Rakugai-zu Byobu: Iwasa Matabei RIP” (2023-25)
Japan’s prison reform focuses on rehabilitation
Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Friday. Suzuki said preparations for the changes that will focus more on rehabilitation are being actively made at each correctional facility.
Six months into 2025, J-pop is having a full-on identity crisis (and a great time)
The year so far is only proving that Mrs. Green Apple is the biggest band in Japan. Their success also seems to be hinting at a change in the musical landscape more broadly.
Nintendo’s Switch 2 console is finally here
The Switch 2 is Nintendo's first new gaming console in eight years.
Hakuho’s departure highlights worrying sumo trend
Former <i>yokozuna</i> Hakuho performs a ring-entering ceremony at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in February 2020.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027
Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER