TOKYO -- High prices are starting to put pressure on small and midsize businesses in Japan, forcing a record number of them into bankruptcy as the country lags behind the West in passing along the increased costs to customers.
Fiscal 2022 saw 463 companies file for bankruptcy over rising prices or an inability to pass along costs, according to Teikoku Databank. The figure was 3.4 times the 136 cases of fiscal 2021. This March alone had 67 cases -- a record high for a single month.
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