Japan corporate bankruptcies hit 9-year high with end of COVID lifelines

TOKYO -- Japan logged more than 9,000 corporate bankruptcies for the first time in nine years in fiscal 2023 as companies reliant on pandemic-era government aid were weeded out, with some analysts predicting that the number could exceed 10,000 this fiscal year.

Corporate bankruptcies involving liabilities of 10 million yen ($66,000) or more increased 32% on the year to 9,053 in the year ended March, according to data released Monday by Tokyo Shoko Research.