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TOKYO: Bankruptcies over the outbreak of Covid-19 (coronavirus) rose sharply in Japan in April, reaching nearly 90, local media reported on Tuesday (May 5).
As of the weekend, the number of bankruptcies related to the spread of the virus totalled 114, compared with 25 at the end of March, according to a survey conducted by Tokyo Shoko Research.
The outbreak especially affected small and medium-sized firms in the tourism and accommodation sectors, the survey said.
The Japanese economy has been affected by stay-at-home and business closure requests with the declaration of a state of emergency in April.
The 114 bankruptcies took place in 35 out of Japan’s 47 prefectures.
At least half of them are small in scale with debts of less than 300 million yen (2.8 million U.S. dollars), the survey revealed.
Among them, 26 were from the accommodation sector, followed by 16 in eateries and 10 of apparel companies. By region, 38 bankruptcies, constituting over 30 percent, were filed in Tokyo and its surrounding areas.
Business failures due to the COVID-19 outbreak are feared to increase as authorities continue to ask people to stay home and tighten border controls, greatly reducing spending by foreign and domestic tourists and consumers, analysts said. – Xinhua / Asian News Network
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