Twenty-eight years ago today, on September 18th, 1997 (August 17th, 1997 in the lunar calendar), the Japanese supermarket giant Yabaiban Company went bankrupt. On September 18th, 1997, a big news broke out in the Japanese business community: the legendary Japanese 800 Company had applied to the court for the protection of the "Company Rehabilitation Law" that afternoon, which was actually tantamount to declaring bankruptcy. This is the largest corporate bankruptcy case in Japan's circulation field after the war. Eight hundred years of ups and downs have gone from prosperity to making ends meet, which is shocking and regrettable, and its lessons are also thought-provoking. Yabaiban Company was founded in 1930 and is headquartered in Numazu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It belongs to Yabaiban Group and is a backbone food supermarket listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Many people know the Japanese TV series "The Story of Ashin". Ashin, the heroine in the play, is Wada Sheng, the wife of Wada Lianghei, who founded 800 companions in real life. "The Story of A Xin" describes the struggle of Wada Sheng's life to start a business. Until Wada Sheng's death in 1993, people have been telling stories about her life of thrift and hard work. At first, Baiban was a vegetable and fruit shop opened by Wada in Atami City, Shizuoka Prefecture. After more than 30 years of hard work, small shops have developed considerably. In 1962, the name of the store was officially changed to Babaiban Department Store. The eldest son, Kazuo Wada, inherited his father's business and became the general manager of Yabaiban Department Store, while Kazuo's mother, Kazuo Wada, became the top consultant. Since then, 800 companions have aggressively expanded their business at home and abroad, began to increase production lines, and concurrently engaged in household articles and clothing. They have successively established a series of semicolons in Brazil, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, the United Kingdom and the United States, setting off a wave of internationalization of the circulation industry. Baiban Group has gradually developed into a chain enterprise with a capital of 23.6 billion yen, 42 domestic backbone stores and 26 overseas supermarkets. In particular, it is worth mentioning that 800 companions have developed rapidly in Hong Kong. In December, 1984, it opened its Babaiban No.1 store in Hong Kong. In 1989, Kazuo Wada took advantage of the low tide of Hong Kong's economy to invest heavily in Hong Kong again and establish relations with wealthy businessmen in Hong Kong. His business became more and more prosperous, and the reputation of 800 companions became louder and louder in Hong Kong. In October 1989, Kazuo Wada announced that he would move the global business headquarters of 800 companies to Hong Kong, and purchased the top two floors of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Office Building for HK $220 million. Later, he bought Tianshuiwei Shopping Mall and Jiangjingguangchang successively. From 1990 to 1991, Kazuo Wada listed the shares of Babaiban Catering and Babaiban Food Company successively. In 1993, he listed the shares of Babaiban International Group independently to support the development of the head office. Then, Kazuo Wada turned his focus to Pudong, Shanghai, and established a joint venture with Shanghai to establish Shanghai No.1 800 Company. Kazuo Wada, 68, was once known as the "circulation situation". Why did he suffer bankruptcy? The consensus view is that he at least made the mistakes of blind investment and poor management. First of all, 800 companions are not deeply rooted in Japan, but they blindly emphasize the implementation of global strategies and expand too much abroad. According to the "Nihon Keizai Shimbun" report, in Japan, 800 companies only have dozens of backbone supermarkets centered on Shizuoka, failing to grasp the domestic business situation and business opportunities in Japan well. Secondly, borrowing too much is unsustainable. Baihan mainly relies on debt to operate, and its survival is supported by huge turnover and cash flow. According to reports, its total liabilities amount to 161.3 billion yen (about 1.34 billion US dollars). In 1994, the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates six times in succession, which put great pressure on 800 companies, forcing it to try to reduce its debts and start selling some stores one after another. Since the early 1990s, 800 companies have issued corporate bonds and raised funds directly from the financial market, gradually breaking away from the three banks that they relied on in the past: Tokai, Sumitomo Trust and Japan Long-term Credit. Although the practice of converting from indirect financing through banks to direct financing is in line with the trend of financial liberalization, when the capital turnover deteriorates, without the support of major banks, it will inevitably fall into isolation and helplessness. Eight hundred companions have experienced this bitterness. Babaiban Group, known as the miracle of enterprise development, has tried to change its predicament by changing its signboard since 1996. Last year, they officially changed the logo of the group from the "earth" pattern to the "eight" pattern, which not only takes the auspicious meaning of the eight characters, but also symbolizes the meaning of joining hands and being grateful, and shows that Babaiban is a "world citizen enterprise group" with the aim of "serving the world". However, after changing the signboard, 800 companions not only failed to turn losses into profits, but there were repeated storms. Kazuo Wada was forced to sell his mansion to relieve debt, but there was no improvement. Last May, he sold 16 more profitable shops in Japan to Daiei Company. Finally, in order to avoid a worse outcome, he finally applied to Shizuoka District Court for the protection of "Company Rehabilitation Law" on September 18th this year. As the capital turnover of Yabaiban has deteriorated since July, the company's stock dropped from more than 200 yen to 184 yen on July 7, to 95 yen on July 11, and to 70 yen on September 18. The Tokyo Stock Exchange announced on September 18th that it would stop trading the shares of 800 companies in Japan from the 19th, and would abolish the listing of the company's shares on December 19th. At the same time, according to the application of the "Company Rehabilitation Law", the 40 billion yen convertible corporate bonds issued by 800 Company can no longer be repaid, and the bank will not acquire them. However, this time, only 800 companies Japan went bankrupt, and 800 companies still exist. Wada Mitsuzheng, the general manager of Baiban Japan Company and the fourth brother of Kazuo Wada, recently told reporters that although he will take the blame and resign, other stores of Baiban Group in Japan and overseas semicolons will continue to operate as usual.