Hashimoto (橋本), Okayama textile recycler, bankrupt in 2026

What happened

Why it happened

• One client held the business: when a major trading partner stopped operating, the sales that had fed Hashimoto for decades went with it — a concentration the company never replaced.
• Recycled textiles became a price war: collecting and reselling used fiber is a commodity business, and intensifying competition squeezed what was left of the margin.
• The owner's age closed the options: with the president aging, there was no successor or new direction to rebuild the business, and the company chose bankruptcy over a fight it could not staff.

Aftermath

The Okayama District Court issued a bankruptcy commencement order for Hashimoto on 5 June 2026, with liabilities of about ¥120 million. The Kurashiki City company, founded in 1951, collected and recycled textile raw materials, sold cotton yarn, blended yarn and special yarn, and manufactured and sold work gloves, denim aprons and leg wraps. Sales declined when a major trading partner stopped its business, price competition intensified, and the aging of the president made rebuilding difficult until the company judged continuation impossible. Reported 23 June 2026.