Tokyo - The number of corporate bankruptcies mainly caused by the fall in the value of the Japanese yen increased 2.7 times in 2014 from the previous year to 345, a media report said Thursday.
The number of such bankruptcies jumped to 44 in December, the fourth straight month of increase, the Tokyo Shimbun daily reported, citing Teikoku Databank, a credit research agency.
The yen's fall has driven up import costs, especially those of raw materials, but many small and medium-sized companies could not pass on them to customers, which has further undermined their earnings, according to the research agency.
Of the 345 bankruptcies, 96 cases were in the transportation and communications sector, 80 in the wholesale sector and 66 in the manufacturing sector.
The number of such bankruptcies is expected to rise amid aggressive monetary easing steps promoted by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government.
The yen has lost about 40% of its value since Abe took office in December 2012.