Japan’s Business Failures in September 2023
(Released by TEIKOKU DATABANK, LTD.)
Number of bankruptcies exceeds that of the same month of the previous year for 17 consecutive months
January to September 2023: 6,128 bankruptcies Exceeding the full year of FY2021
| Bankruptcies |
679 |
| Year-to-Year basis |
＋16.5％ |
| Last Year same month |
583 |
| Liabilities |
695,110 million yen |
| Year-to-Year basis |
＋414.8％ |
| Last Year same month |
135,031 million yen |
Highlight and Outstanding Feature
- ■The number of bankruptcies rose to 679 (583 in the same period of the previous year, up 16.5%) up year-on-year for 17 consecutive months, and the highest level in September since 2019 (687) before the pandemic. The total number of bankruptcies in the January to September period of 2023 came to 6,128, which is already higher than the total number of bankruptcies in FY2021 (6,015), the period when bankruptcies were controlled.
- ■Total liabilities were 695,110 million yen (135,031 million yen in the same period of the previous year, up 414.8%), a significant increase of over 400% from the same month of the previous year, partly due to the legal liquidation of Panasonic Liquid Crystal Display Co., Ltd.
- ■By industry, the number of bankruptcies increased year-on-year in six of seven industries. On the other hand, in the retail industry (to 151 bankruptcies from 108 in the same month of the previous year, up 39.8%), bankruptcies of restaurants (to 61 from 34 in the same month of the previous year) were up for the twelfth consecutive month, the longest such increase in history. In the transport and communication industry (to 39 from 22 in the same month of the previous year, up 77.3%), bankruptcies of companies involved in “road freight transport” were significantly higher than in the same month of the previous year.
- ■In terms of primary cause, recession-induced bankruptcies numbered 542, marking the seventeenth consecutive month of year-on-year increase.
- ■By type, there were 21 cases of special liquidation, surpassing the same month of the previous year for the fifth consecutive month, and the first time this had happened in six years.
- ■By size, the number of bankruptcies of companies with debts of less than 5 billion yen came to 21, exceeding 20 for the first time in two years and one month.
- ■By business history, the number of bankruptcies of companies that had a business history of 30 years or more was the highest. Bankruptcies in the start-up companies surpassed those of the same month of the previous year for 19 consecutive months.
- ■By region, seven of nine regions experienced year-on-year increases. The largest increase was in Kyushu (to 62 from 41 in the same month of the previous year, up 51.2%), up for 12 consecutive months, and Chubu (to 109 from 82, up 32.9%), up for 14 consecutive months, with the trend thus showing a long-term and continuous increase.
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