TOKYO, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Japan recorded 934 corporate bankruptcies in October, the third-highest monthly tally this year, as businesses continued to grapple with rising prices and labor costs, a credit research firm said Tuesday.
While the number of failures involving debts of 10 million yen (about 63,290 U.S. dollars) or more fell 3.21 percent from a year earlier, combined liabilities rose 1.4 percent to 129.3 billion yen, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Small-business failures with liabilities of less than 100 million yen accounted for 76.1 percent of the total.
Bankruptcies linked to labor shortages hit 50, including 32 caused by rising personnel costs. Inflation was a factor in 80 bankruptcies, as a weaker yen pushed up the cost of imported raw materials.
By industry, the services sector, including restaurants, recorded the most bankruptcies, at 342, followed by construction at 166. ■