Japan corporate bankruptcies linked to weak yen surge to a record

Tokyo

JAPANESE corporate bankruptcies linked to the yen's slide rose to a record, highlighting strains on small and medium-sized companies as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe campaigns for re-election on his economic strategy.

Forty-two of the companies that failed in November cited the weaker currency as a contributor, bringing the total number of bankruptcies associated with the yen this year to 301, almost triple that of the same period in 2013, according to a survey by Teikoku Databank Ltd. It said surging costs of imported food, metals and construction materials squeezed small companies.