Japan’s Business Failures in November 2023
(Released by TEIKOKU DATABANK, LTD.)
Number of bankruptcies exceeds that of the same month of the previous year for 19 consecutive months
The annual number of bankruptcies is expected to exceed that just before the pandemic
| Bankruptcies |
773 |
| Year-to-Year basis |
＋35.6％ |
| Last Year same month |
570 |
| Liabilities |
88,150 million yen |
| Year-to-Year basis |
▲31.5％ |
| Last Year same month |
128,627 million yen |
Highlight and Outstanding Feature
- ■There were 773 bankruptcies (570 in the same month of the previous year, up 35.6%). This was the 19th consecutive month of year-on-year growth and the second consecutive month of year-on-year growth of at least 30%. The total number of bankruptcies from January to November 2023 was 7,691. In November, the number of bankruptcies exceeded 7,500 for the first time in four years since 2019.
- ■Total liabilities were 88,150 million yen (128,627 million yen in the same month of the previous year, down 31.5%), down from the same month of the previous year for the first time in three months due in part to the absence of large-scale bankruptcies of companies with liabilities of 5 billion yen or more.
- ■By industry, the number of bankruptcies increased year-on-year in six of seven industries. The service industry (to 196 bankruptcies from 140 in the same month of the previous year, up 40.0%) and the retail industry (to 170 from 104, up 63.5%) saw the highest figures since March 2023 and July 2020, respectively. All industries have exceeded the total for 2022, with December still to go.
- ■In terms of primary cause, recession-induced bankruptcies numbered 632, marking the 19th consecutive month of year-on-year increase.
- ■By type, there were 733 bankruptcies, the most common form, surpassing 700 for the second consecutive month.
- ■By size, liabilities of less than 50 million yen were the highest at 481 (315 in the same month of the previous year).
- ■In terms of business history, 33.1% of all bankruptcies were among start-ups, the second-highest rate ever.
- ■By region, eight of nine regions experienced year-on-year increases. In the Kanto region (to 279 bankruptcies from 214 in the same month of the previous year, up 30.4%), the number of bankruptcies in the retail industry increased significantly to 63 from 28, pushing up the overall number. By November, bankruptcies in 35 prefectures exceeded the total number of cases for the full year of 2022.
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