TOKYO, Sept. 8 -- Japanese corporate bankruptcies fell 14.26 percent on year in August, marking the 13th successive month of decline, Tokyo Shoko Research said in a report released Wednesday.
' r0 D7 K! E3 M8 I; [- {# M0 g! ^) s* P According to the research firm, the number of corporate failures in August stood at 1,064 with an increase in exports and more expansive public credit facilities being cited as contributing to the slowdown.
- |# }( x5 u. U) A( D, i- h The total amount of debt involved in the failures amounted 188. 92 billion yen (2.26 billion U.S. dollars), a drop of 33.52 percent and the seventh straight month of decline, Tokyo Shoko Research said.
* ?. M+ ]! k3 t0 K It was the first time in almost 20 years that debts left behind by bankrupt firms came in below the 200 billion yen (2.39 billion U.S. dollars) level, the research firm said.7 D s3 j6 Q: P' M1 H
According to Tokyo Shoko, government stimulus measures as well as business improvements were responsible for the drop and the firm reiterated the impact increased demand from emerging economies was having on major businesses' exports.
, W2 q# B) U6 K Tokyo Shoko's monthly survey covers failures with debts of 10 million yen (119,820 U.S. dollars) or more and in comparison to July, the number of failures dropped 0.18 percent in the recording period and the amount of bankruptcy debt fell 31.38 percent.( }: a8 c6 g7 n% i/ {
Tokyo Shoko Research noted however that the yen's appreciation, which hit 15-year highs against the U.S. dollar recently, may affect Japan's economic outlook and hamper its export-led recovery and highlighted the fact that the pace of small and mid-sized firms' development appeared to be slowing. |