东京商工研究所在周四表示，由于劳动力短缺导致的企业破产数量比上一年增加了17%。
The number of corporate bankruptcies in Japan caused by labor shortages has risen 17% from the previous year.
在截至9月的上半年财年中，这一数字达到了240起，是自2013财年有可比数据以来的最高水平。
The figure reached 240 for the first half of the fiscal year, April to September, the highest level since comparable data became available in fiscal 2013, Tokyo Shoko Research said on Thursday.
其中，因劳动力成本飙升而导致的破产案例增加了近一倍，达到130起。
Of them, failures stemming from soaring labor costs climbed nearly twofold to 130.
大约60%的因劳动力短缺导致的破产发生在资本规模不足1000万日元（6.3万美元）的企业。
About 60% of bankruptcies caused by labor shortages occurred at businesses with less than ¥10 million ($63,000) in capital.
东京商工研究所有关人士表示，提高工资的压力给中小企业的财务状况带来了压力。
“Pressure to raise wages weighed on the finances of small and midsize companies,” a Tokyo Shoko Research official said.
上半年破产企业的总数增加了3.8%，达到5373家，创下了13年来的新高。这些数据涵盖了负债至少1000万日元的企业。
The total number of bankruptcies in the first half of the fiscal year rose 3.8% to 5,373, a 13-year high for the period. The data covered failures with liabilities of at least ¥10 million.
因价格上涨导致的破产案例增加了17.8%，达到436起；而因找不到继任者导致的破产案例增加了23.4%，达到了263起的历史新高。
Failures caused by rising prices rose 17.8% to 436, while those related to failures in finding a successor jumped 23.4% to a record high of 263.
按行业划分，包括餐厅和酒店在内的服务行业在企业破产中占比最大，为1828家，增长了3.7%。
By industry, services firms, including restaurants and hotels, made up the largest share of bankruptcies, at 1,828, up 3.7%.
由于包括信用卡支付处理公司Zentoshin在内的大规模企业破产，破产留下的总负债增加了23.5%，达到8560亿日元。
Total liabilities left by bankruptcies grew 23.5% to ¥856 billion because of an increase in large-scale bankruptcies including the failure of Zentoshin, a credit card payment processing service firm.
仅9月份，破产总数就下降了4.8%，降至831家，负债减少了3.1%，降至1089亿日元。
In September alone, the total number of bankruptcies fell 4.8% to 831. Liabilities dropped 3.1% to ¥108.9 billion.