The number of bankrupt Japanese businesses in 2024 is estimated to exceed 10,000, reaching the highest level since 2013, according to survey data released on Saturday.
During the January-November period, a total of 9,164 companies went bankrupt in Japan, as was shown by data from the Japanese corporate credit survey institution Tokyo Shoko Research (TSR).
In the first 11 months of the year, bankruptcies in Japan increased by 16.2 percent compared with the same period last year, with total debt nearing 2.15 trillion yen (about 13.6 billion U.S. dollars), the TSR data said.
The number of bankrupt companies in the country was 10,855 in 2013, but has been staying below 10,000 since then.
In addition, over 70 percent of the companies that went bankrupt have debts of less than 100 million yen (633,416 U.S. dollars), and most of the bankruptcies this year have been among small and micro businesses.
The slow recovery in domestic demand and rising prices, along with increased debt and labor shortages, are placing heavy burdens on these businesses, TSR's survey report suggested.
Japan's bankrupt businesses estimated to hit 11-year high in 2024
The Palestinian death toll in Gaza Strip has risen to 50,423, with 114,638 injured, after nearly 18 months of Israeli military operations, Gaza health authorities said Wednesday.
Local medical sources noted that since the Israeli army resumed its operations on March 18, the number of fatalities has reached 1,066, while 2,597 have been injured.
In the past 24 hours alone, hospitals in Gaza received 24 fatalities and 55 injured. Many bodies remain trapped beneath the rubble, with ambulances and civil defense personnel struggling to reach them.
According to a report by the Times of Israel, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Wednesday that it had carried out strikes on over 50 sites belonging to Hamas and other militant groups, ahead of a major ground push into the southern Gaza Strip. During the day, dozens more strikes were carried out across Gaza.
In addition, the IDF issued a statement on Wednesday night that it had intercepted two rockets launched from northern Gaza. Air raid sirens were activated in areas near the Gaza Strip, and local media said that there are no reports of injuries or damage in the attack. The Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for the attack.
According to Palestinian media reports on Wednesday, the Israeli air force targeted a medical facility operated by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. The head of Gaza-based health authorities reported on the same day that 19 people were killed in the attack.
The Israeli military stated on Wednesday that it had struck a Hamas command center in Jabalia.
On Wednesday night, Al Jazeera quoted relevant sources as saying that Hamas officials had received Israel's response to the ceasefire proposal, which had been put forward by mediators and accepted by Hamas. Based on this response, they concluded that Israel had rejected the proposal.
Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises to 50,423
