The number of bankruptcies among nursing care providers in Japan for the first six months of 2024 jumped 50 percent from a year earlier to reach a record 81, amid rising prices and labor shortages, a survey by a credit research company showed Thursday.
The previous high for nursing care firm bankruptcies in the January-June period was logged in 2020 at 58, when the number of service users declined during the coronavirus pandemic, according to Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd. Comparable data became available from 2000.
The rise in failures involving liabilities exceeding 10 million yen ($6,200) comes as competition to secure enough workers intensifies, with more new entrants seeking to tap into the rising demand for nursing care services due to Japan's rapidly aging population, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Rising prices of gasoline, utility bills and nursing care products have also weighed on businesses.
"Small and midsize companies with less strength will not be able to survive the fierce competition," an official said.
Companies joining the nursing care business have included those from different industries, with Tokyo Shoko Research citing as an example Nippon Life Insurance Co.'s acquisition of Nichii Holdings Co., a holding company that includes major nursing care firm Nichiigakkan Co.
By service, visiting nursing care providers logged the highest number of bankruptcies at 40, followed by those in daycare and short-term stays at 25 and paid nursing homes at nine, according to data.
By prefecture, Osaka recorded the highest figure at 11, followed by Tokyo at 6 and Kanagawa at 5.
