The number of corporate bankruptcies in Japan hit a 14-year high in the first half of 2026. The increase in failures continues a trend seen in the same period last year.
Credit research firm Teikoku Databank says 5,335 businesses went under in the January-to-June period. That’s up 332 from last year and the highest since 2012. They had debts of at least 10 million yen, or about 61,500 dollars.
Most failures were in the service sector, followed by retail and construction. Inflation was cited as one of the main reasons for the increase, with businesses struggling to pass on higher fuel and…