Interest
Paper Making Company Files For Bankruptcy Following Comiket's Cancellation
posted on by Kim Morrissy
Yahoo! News reported last Friday that the paper making company Kitamura Kamiten filed for bankruptcy at the Tokyo District Court on May 14. The information was logged by financial research firm Teikoku Databank.
Although Kitamura Kamiten handled a wide variety of paper making jobs, including both Japanese and western styles, the business was hit particularly hard by Comic Market 98's cancellation. The doujinshi convention was originally scheduled to take place from May 2 to 5.
The company was already suffering financial difficulties due to the decline in demand for paper products in recent years. In February, the company made a revenue of 105 million yen (approximately US$975,000), a one hundred million yen decline from the same month in 2003. The company had been relying on sales from Comiket to pay back its loans, but the economic effects of COVID-19 dealt a serious blow to the company's finances, and they decided to close the business on May 13.
Kitamura Kamiten was established in 1970. The company specialized in making wrapping paper and covers, as well as Japanese-style "washi" used when writing letters.
Source: Yahoo! News via Otakomu
Update: Updated broken link in source and fixed typos.
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