TOKYO —

Debts left by failed companies in January more than tripled from a year earlier to 838.99 billion yen, the highest figure since the end of World War II for the reporting month, due to the collapse of the nation’s top air carrier Japan Airlines, a credit research company said Monday.
   
The number of corporate bankruptcies in January, however, dropped 21.8% to 1,063 in Japan, a decline for the sixth consecutive month and falling below the 1,100 mark for the first time in two years and one month, due to economic stimulus measures taken by the government, Tokyo Shoko Research said.
   
As part of the stimulus measures, the government awarded public-works contracts ahead of schedule and worked to assist the financing of smaller firms.
   
JAL and two group firms alone accounted for 89.2% of the total liabilities, the research company said. JAL filed for bankruptcy protection Jan 19 in the biggest nonfinancial corporate failure in Japan’s postwar history.
   
Of 10 major industries surveyed, all except for two sectors—the information and telecommunications services, as well as the agriculture, forestry, fishing and mining industry—saw an increase in bankruptcies.
   
The breakdown of the major industries shows there was a significant increase in bankruptcies among firms serving consumers such as supermarket operators, companies in the entertainment business and restaurant and other food service firms.
   
While the case of major corporate failures involving debts of at least 1 billion yen decreased 37.3% in a fall for seven months in a row, companies employing only four or fewer workers accounted for 66.3% of the total bankruptcies, the highest in the past year.
   
Workers affected by the corporate bankruptcies totaled 22,892, exceeding 20,000 for the first time in seven years and 10 months.

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5 Comments

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  some14some at 07:46 AM JST - 9th February

  ...after effects will continue until March, 2010 ! I am worried about GDP figures.

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  ahocchau at 09:38 AM JST - 9th February

  nice planes, good routes, good prices. Not too hard of a concept to grasp.

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  stirfry at 05:07 PM JST - 9th February

  after effects will continue until March, 2010

  will continue until March 3010

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  some14some at 06:18 PM JST - 9th February

  stirfry: Thank you for correction :)

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  ashika1009 at 09:21 AM JST - 10th February

  "JAL collapse boosts?" that is some interesting wording.

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