Over 170 nursing care business operators went bankrupt last year, the highest number ever, possibly due to rising prices

 Recently NHK News on-line reported the following:

介護事業者の倒産 去年170件余 過去最多に 物価高騰など影響か

2025年1月10日 6時09分

去年、全国で確認された介護事業者の倒産は合わせて170件余りと、これまでで最も多くなったことが信用調査会社のまとめで分かりました。倒産の要因として、介護職員の不足や物価の高騰などの影響が考えられるということです。

東京商工リサーチによりますと、去年1年間に確認された介護事業者の倒産は全国で172件と前の年から1.4倍増え、介護保険制度が始まった2000年以降で最も多くなりました。

内訳は、「訪問介護」が最も多く81件と全体の半数近くを占めています。

次いでデイサービスなどの「通所・短期入所」が56件、「有料老人ホーム」が18件などとなっています。

負債総額は合わせて229億円余りで、従業員数が10人未満の小規模な事業所が8割以上を占めています。

倒産の要因としては、介護職員が不足して事業が継続できないことや、コロナ禍で経営が悪化し、介護用品や光熱費などの高騰が追い打ちを掛けたことなどが考えられるということです。

東京商工リサーチは、「高齢化が進み介護の需要は高まっている一方で、地域によっては事業者の倒産で介護サービスが行き届かない所も出てきている。介護事業者どうしの協力や国などの支援が欠かせない状況だ」と指摘しています。

Translation

Over 170 nursing care business operators went bankrupt last year, the highest number ever, possibly due to rising prices

A credit research company had found that over 170 nursing care business operators went bankrupt nationwide last year, the highest number ever. The bankruptcies were thought to be due to factors such as a shortage of nursing care staff and a sharp rise in commodity prices.

According to Tokyo Shoko Research (東京商工リサーチ), there were 172 nursing care business operators that confirmed to have gone bankrupt nationwide last year, a 1.4-fold increase from the previous year, and the highest number since the long-term care insurance system began in 2000.

The breakdown was as follows: "Home care" was in the majority, with 81 cases, representing nearly half of the total.

Next were day services etc. " social welfare facility - short-term admission" with 56 cases, and "paid nursing homes" etc. with 18 cases.

The total debt amounted to over 22.9 billion yen, with more than 80% being small businesses with fewer than 10 employees.

Possible reasons for the bankruptcies included a shortage of care workers that made it impossible to continue business, a worsening business situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the further impact of soaring prices for care products and utilities.

Tokyo Shoko Research pointed out that "While the demand for care is increasing as the population ages, some regions are falling behind on care services due to the bankruptcy of some operators. The situation is that cooperation between care providers and supports from the government etc. are essential."

So, over 170 nursing care business operators went bankrupt nationwide last year, the highest number ever. Probably it is due to factors such as a shortage of nursing care staff and sharp rises in commodity prices. Apparently, the Japanese government should increase its budget in social welfare.