JAPAN: Labor shortages and falling land prices...

JAPAN: Labor shortages and falling land prices that hit small and medium-size businesses pushed April bankruptcies up 59% compared to the same month last year, Tokyo’s Commerce and Industry Research Co. said. Higher interest rates were another factor, the institute reported. It forecast that bankruptcies could climb to 1,000 in June unless the government cuts the discount rate. April marked the seventh consecutive month in which the number of bankruptcies rose over the previous year. Failures in manufacturing and construction sectors, due to in part to a labor shortage, were particularly frequent.