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5h ago

Audit Finds ¥20.37 Billion Surplus in Quake-Recovery SME Fund, Seeks Treasury Return

Auditors urged METI to reclaim the excess, citing dwindling losses with demand now concentrated in Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima.

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Overview

  • The Board of Audit concluded that about ¥20.37 billion of a roughly ¥31.9 billion year-end FY2024 balance is unlikely to be used in the federation’s earthquake recovery fund.
  • METI and the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency were asked to right-size the fund and recover the surplus, and the agency said it will instruct the federation to review the program.
  • Withdrawals from the fund totaled only about ¥1.4 billion across FY2020–FY2024, reflecting a long slide in claims since the program’s early years.
  • Outstanding guaranteed debt fell from roughly ¥1.6473 trillion (76,265 cases) at FY2011 year-end to about ¥221 billion (13,314 cases) by FY2024.
  • Residual demand is concentrated in the three hardest-hit prefectures, with FY2024 approvals totaling 2,130 cases worth about ¥59 billion, including 1,740 cases and about ¥49 billion in Fukushima.