JAPAN

Bankruptcy Debt Plunges: Total debt from bankrupt Japanese companies in July fell 46.3% from a year earlier, largely because of a drop in large-scale bankruptcies, according to a private research and rating company. The $3.45-billion total was the sixth-largest ever for the month of July, Tokyo Commerce and Industry Research Co. said. In July, 1,120 businesses failed, down 4% from a year earlier and down 3.4% from June. Bankruptcies among large companies with debts exceeding $10 million dropped to 51 in July from 82 a year earlier, and those with debts below $1 million rose to 710 from 671.