April Japan corporate bankruptcy statistics: Number of cases increases for five consecutive months, pressure on small and medium-sized enterprises intensifies

(1) In April, the number of corporate bankruptcies in Japan involving debts of over 10 million yen reached 883 cases (up 6.6% year-on-year), with total liabilities amounting to 111.896 billion yen (up 8.8% year-on-year). (2) The number of bankruptcy cases has increased year-on-year for five consecutive months, marking the highest single-month figure for April since 2014. (3) The largest bankruptcy case of the month involved debts of 7.315 billion yen, and there were no cases exceeding 10 billion yen. Cases with debts under 100 million yen accounted for about 80% (76.7%) of the total, mainly small and micro-sized enterprises. (4) Due to rising prices, labor costs, interest rates, and the impact of the Middle East situation pushing up crude oil prices, corporate cost burdens have increased, profits have worsened, and cash flow is becoming increasingly severe. (5) It is expected that after entering summer, bankruptcy cases may further rise, especially among companies with declining profitability and weakened risk resistance.