TOKYO (Thomson Financial) - The number of Japanese corporate bankruptcies rose 6.2 percent to a record 1,131 in July from June, private research firm Teikoku Databank Ltd said on Friday.
It marked the second straight monthly rise and followed a 7.1 percent rise in June.
The previous record was hit in March this year when the number of bankruptcies hit 1,127 companies. Teikoku began compiling the data in its current form in April 2005.
Teikoku attributed the increase to rising bankruptcies in the construction, retail and manufacturing sectors.
In the construction sector the number of corporate failures rose 10.6 percent to a record 324, as the sector continued to suffer from falling housing starts and rising costs of materials such as steel, which is used in making buildings and homes.
In the retail sector there were 198 corporate failures, a 5.3 percent increase, due to falling profits stemming from the rising cost of energy and other materials.
There were 142 failures in the manufacturing sector, an increase of 21.4 percent.
Total outstanding liabilities by failed companies rose 35.7 percent to 640.23 billion yen ($5.8 billion) last month after falling 1.9 percent in June.
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