TOKYO: The number of corporate bankruptcies in Japan came to 712 in February, exceeding 700 in the month for the first time in eight years, credit research firm Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd. said Friday.

The figure rose 23.3 percent from a year before, up for 23 months in a row, led by services and construction firms amid soaring materials and labor costs.

Total liabilities left by failed companies grew 44.5 percent to 139,596 million yen. The data covered failures involving liabilities of 10 million yen or more.

The number of bankruptcies related to inflation, including cases where companies failed to pass higher costs on to customers, increased to 57 from 41 a year before, mainly in the manufacturing and transportation industries that include many subcontractors.

“It is highly likely that the number of bankruptcies will increase, especially among smaller companies seeing sales increases without profits as wage growth and other cost increases are expected,” a Tokyo Shoko Research official said.

JIJI Press