Japan’s Business Failures in January 2025
(Released by TEIKOKU DATABANK, LTD.)
In FY2024, the number of bankruptcies may surpass 10,000 for the first time in 11 years
Number of bankruptcies exceeds that of the same month of the previous year for 33 consecutive months, longest such period since the end of World War II
| Bankruptcies |
830 |
| Year-to-Year basis |
+18.6％ |
| Last Year same month |
700 |
| Liabilities |
210,076 million yen |
| Year-to-Year basis |
+43.1％ |
| Last Year same month |
120,519 million yen |
Highlight and Outstanding Feature
- ■There were 830 bankruptcies (700 in the same month of the previous year, up 18.6%). This year-on-year increase marked the longest streak of 33 months since the end of World War II. For January, the number exceeded 800 for the first time in 11 years since 2014 (809). The cumulative number of bankruptcies between April 2024 and January 2025 was 8,427, which was 1,150 or 15.8% higher than the same period of the previous year (7,277), and it is possible that the number will exceed 10,000 in FY2024.
- ■Liabilities totaled 120,519 million yen (84,229 million yen in the same month of the previous year, up 43.1%), marking the third consecutive month of year-on-year increase. In addition to an increase in the number of bankruptcies among small and medium-sized businesses, there was one case of a bankruptcy of a company with liabilities exceeding 10 billion yen. Funai Group Co., Ltd. (formerly Funai Electric Holdings Co., Ltd.), a holding company of Funai Electric Co., Ltd., had the largest amount of liabilities, coming in at 32.723 billion yen.
- ■By industry, the number of bankruptcies increased year-on-year in six of seven industries. The service industry had the most bankruptcies (to 218 from 195 in the same month last year, up 11.8%), surpassing the number in 2009 (204) and setting a new record for the month of January since the year 2000.
- ■By region, seven of nine regions experienced year-on-year increases. The region with the most bankruptcies was Kanto (to 274 from 251 in the same period last year, up 9.2%). The cumulative total for April 2024 to January 2025 has already exceeded the total number for FY2023 in 19 prefectures.
- ■There were 32 bankruptcies caused by a difficulty in finding a successor, and “illness and death of management” accounted for 46.9% of the total.
- ■There were 39 bankruptcies due to labor shortages, the second-highest level after March 2024.
- ■There were 50 cases of bankruptcies after zero-zero (COVID-19-related) loans, down from the same month of the previous year for the second consecutive month.
- ■There were 68 cases of bankruptcy due to high prices, bringing the cumulative total from April 2024 to January 2025 to 769.
Bankruptcy Information TOP