Japan's bankruptcy filings hit 11-year high in FY2024/25, TSR tally shows

Japan's bankruptcy filings in fiscal 2024 totalled 10,144, the most in 11 years, credit research firm Tokyo Shoko Research (TSR) said on Tuesday, amid rising uncertainties around the Bank of Japan's rate hike schedule.

The number of bankruptcies in the 12 months to March was the largest since fiscal 2013's 10,536, and grew by 12% from the previous year, according to TSR. Most industries, except for financial and transportation sectors, had more bankruptcies than in the previous year, the data showed.

However, the total amount of debt in bankruptcy was 2.37 trillion yen ($16.08 billion) in fiscal 2024, down from 2.46 trillion yen in fiscal 2023, as relatively more small- and mid-sized firms went bankrupt, TSR said.

The largest debtor was the former Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp, which was liquidated last year with 641 billion yen in debt, after the termination of the Mitsubishi SpaceJet commercial airplane project, according to TSR.

Bankruptcy data is one of the indicators BOJ policymakers monitor to gauge the Japanese economy's soundness. Governor Kazuo Ueda has said the central bank will keep raising interest rates if sustained wage hikes, including at smaller firms, support consumption-led economic growth.

($1 = 147.4100 yen)