Morimoto, a Japanese condominium developer, was on the brink of collapse Monday after it filed for protection from creditors with Y162bn ($1.7bn) of debt, bringing the number of bankruptcies among publicly traded companies in Japan to a postwar record, reports Bloomberg. The company’s filing late on Nov 28 pushed the total number of bankruptcies among listed firms in 2008 to 30, the most since WWII, according to research firm Teikoku Databank. The bankruptcy sent the Topix Real Estate Index 5.4 points lower on Monday, the second-worst performer on the Topix. Earlier, Japan’s economy minister Kaoru Yosano told the FT that Japan’s economy is unlikely to respond to a planned fiscal stimulus. Yosano said the country would have to endure higher unemployment and possibly a return to deflation and shrinking output.
