TOKYO, April 8 (Xinhua) -- The number of business bankruptcies in Japan surpassed 10,000 for the first time in 11 years in fiscal 2024, as small- to medium-sized companies succumbed to a labor shortage and higher prices, local media reported Tuesday.

Bankruptcy cases, involving debts of at least 10 million yen (about 68,100 U.S. dollars), rose 12.1 percent from the previous year to 10,144, Kyodo News reported, citing a survey released Tuesday by Tokyo Shoko Research.

Firms with less than 10 employees made up 89.4 percent of the business failures as they struggled to finance their business after the end of special tax deferral measures introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the credit research company.

Total liabilities decreased 3.6 percent from the previous year to 2.37 trillion yen, the survey showed.

By industry, the services sector had the highest number of bankruptcies at 3,398, up 12.2 percent, the largest since fiscal 1989. The construction sector followed with a 9.3 percent growth to 1,943 cases. (1 yen equals 0.0068 U.S. dollars) Enditem

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