The number of corporate bankruptcies in Japan exceeded 10,000 for the first time in 11 years in 2024 as businesses faced a worsening labor shortage and higher prices of imported supplies due to the yen's depreciation, a survey by a credit research company showed Tuesday.Small and medium-sized enterprises were hit hard, with the end of special tax deferral measures introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic causing an additional financial burden, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.Bankruptcies rose 15.1 percent from the previous year to 10,006, marking the third consecutive year of increases. Of…READ FULL ARTICLE