Japan set a new post-war record for bankruptcies by listed companies late last year when homebuilder Morimoto Co filed for protection. And across the board, bankruptcy numbers are up on 2007, according to figures from research firm Teikoku Databank.

Could this then mean that some financial firms will be looking to strengthen their insolvency/restructuring teams? Maybe, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we will be seeing a burst of new job creation.

Pete Millett, director of recruitment firm People Services International (PSI) says the only types of firms who in theory could perhaps benefit slightly from the current round of bankruptcies and restructuring in Japan are external advisors, such as management consulting firms or legal firms.

However, in the current economic climate, firms will obviously do their best to make maximum usage of existing staff, says Millett. “The overall hiring trend of even these management consulting and legal firms would obviously still trend down with the economy, as they would lose otherwise normal business elsewhere in their markets when their clients reduce discretionary outlays on such costs,” he adds.