Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sees his victory in the December elections as an endorsement of his economic policies, especially his drive to weaken the yen to help exports. The weaker yen is already helping the nation's biggest companies get richer; it will also fuel a rise in bankruptcies among smaller ones. Toyota Motor and Honda Motor are expected to post record profits in 2014 as the weaker yen boosted earnings from overseas. The aggregate net income at 196 of Japan's largest listed companies will reach a record 18 trillion yen ($149 billion) this fiscal year, based on analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. At the same time, the number of Japanese companies citing the weaker yen among the reasons for going bankrupt almost tripled in 2014 to 301 as fast-rising costs of imported food, metals, and construction materials squeezed small businesses, according to Teikoku Databank. Japan may see a continued rise in such bank-' ruptcies, especially of small companies outside large cities, the research company says.
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