Japan’s Business Failures in April 2025
(Released by TEIKOKU DATABANK, LTD.)
Number of bankruptcies reaches 826, exceeding that of the same month of the previous year for 36 consecutive months
Increase in small-scale bankruptcies continues
| Bankruptcies |
826 |
| Year-to-Year basis |
+8.7% |
| Last Year same month |
760 |
| Liabilities |
100,549 million yen |
| Year-to-Year basis |
+6.3％ |
| Last Year same month |
94,600 million yen |
Highlight and Outstanding Feature
- ■There were 826 bankruptcies (760 bankruptcies in the same month of the previous year, up 8.7% year-on-year), marking the first time in 11 years that the number of cases in April exceeded 800. This marks the 36th consecutive month that the number of bankruptcies has exceeded the same month of the previous year, and the figure continues to set new records for the longest period since the end of World War 2.
- ■Liabilities totaled 100,549 million yen (94,600 million yen in the same month of the previous year, up 6.3%), marking the first year-on-year increase in two months. Kumamoto Kanko Kaihatsu Co., Ltd., an operator of golf courses, had the largest amount of liabilities, at 5,644 million yen.
- ■By industry, the number of bankruptcies increased year-on-year in five of seven industries. The service industry (to 215 bankruptcies from 208 in the same month of the previous year, up 3.4%) saw the most bankruptcies, surpassing the same month of the previous year for four consecutive months. This was followed by the retail industry (to 195 bankruptcies from 143 in the same month of the previous year, up 36.4%), and these figures for the service and retail industries were the highest for April since 2000.
- ■By region, seven of nine regions experienced year-on-year increases. The region with the most bankruptcies was Kanto (to 292 from 290 in the same month last year, up 0.7%), showing an increase for the first time in two months. Kinki (to 218 from 181 bankruptcies in the same month last year, up 20.4%) exceeded the same month last year for 31 consecutive months. The region with the highest rate of increase was Shikoku (to 20 from 11 bankruptcies in the same month last year, up 81.8%), followed by Hokkaido (to 24 from 18 bankruptcies in the same month last year, up 33.3%).
- ■There were 59 bankruptcies “after zero-zero (COVID-19-related) loans,” first increase over the same month of the previous year in five months.
- ■There were 34 bankruptcies caused by a “labor shortage,” including 10 cases of “retirement-type bankruptcies.”
- ■Of the 46 bankruptcies in which it was “difficult to find successors,” 40% were due to “illness or death of a manager.”
- ■There were 71 bankruptcies due to “high prices,” with 40% reporting “soaring prices of raw materials.”
Bankruptcy Information TOP