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Travel & Leisure

Coronavirus presents existential threat to Japan's hotels

Analyst said long-term support needed for small businesses which are on 'edge of a cliff'

Hotel chains in Japan have been devastated by the coronavirus outbreak, with many filing for bankruptcies in May.

TOKYO -- In what would have been a windfall year had the Olympic Games proceeded as planned, Japan's hotel chains are instead facing an existential threat after the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on the travel industry.

Just before Japan's annual Golden Week holiday began, Osaka-based WBF Hotels & Resorts, filed for bankruptcy on April 27. The company had racked up debts of 15.7 billion yen ($146 million), making its case the largest coronavirus-induced bankruptcy in Japan so far. Typically, around 25 million people travel domestically and abroad during Japan's the weeklong spring holiday which ended last Thursday.

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