Record Low Number Of Bankruptcies Recorded In Japan In 2020 After Gov't Aid - Reports

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th January, 2021) Japan recorded the lowest number in three decades of corporate bankruptcies in 2020 as a result of government support provided to business amid the coronavirus pandemic, media reported on Wednesday, citing data released by a credit research company.

Data from Tokyo Shoko Research cited by Kyodo news agency shows that bankruptcies of companies with debt of at least $96,000 fell by 7.3 percent to 7,773 in 2020 compared to 2019, the lowest since 1989 when 7,234 corporate bankruptcies were recorded. The figure includes 792 bankruptcies related to the pandemic.

The news outlet attributed the drop to measures taken by the government to support small and medium-sized companies, including through interest-free loans without collateral.

At the same time, the number of bankruptcies with debt below $96,000 grew by 23 percent in 2020 to 630, as small businesses in restaurant and tourism sectors were the hardest hit by the pandemic.

Japan is in the midst of a third wave of transmissions that dwarfs the first two, posting over 6,000 new cases per day in January for the first time. Health authorities have so far registered over 300,000 cases nationwide and over 4,200 related deaths.

Last week, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared the second state of emergency that will stay in force until February 7 in the Japanese prefectures of Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama after a rapid spike in COVID-19 cases. The state of emergency was later expanded to seven additional prefectures.