The number of corporate bankruptcies rose 4.4 percent in September from a year earlier to 1,568, up for the first time in three months, a credit research agency said Monday.

The figure was the largest since 1,608 companies went bust in September 1980 and the fourth largest for any September in the postwar period, Teikoku Databank Ltd. said.

The figure brought the number of bankruptcies in the April-September period to 9,665, up 2 percent from the same period last year and the third worst on record for a fiscal first half, the agency said.

Combined debts in September surged 287.7 percent from a year before to 3 trillion yen, the second worst level for any September after the 3.04 trillion yen registered in September 1998.

The listed companies that went bust in the month were supermarket chain Mycal Corp., listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and Haruyama Chain Co., a men's apparel retailer listed on the over-the-counter market.

The agency keeps track of the failures of firms with debts of more than 10 million yen.

Bankruptcies induced by the economic recession in September numbered 1,190, or 75.9 percent of the total, staying above 75 percent for the fifth straight month.

Companies seeking protection under the rehabilitation law came to a record 108, exceeding 100 for the first time.

Combined debts in the six-month period came to 7.24 trillion yen, down 33.6 percent from the year before, but still the fourth highest since the war.

Bankruptcies brought on by the recession in the period came to a record 7,395, comprising 76.5 percent of the total, also a record high.

Failures in the construction sector matched the record high of 3,029 in the first half of fiscal 2000.

Teikoku Databank said the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States and the subsequent U.S.-led military action threaten to bring on a global recession and worsen the troubles in Japan, which is already suffering from a deflationary spiral.

"The outlook has become increasingly murky," the agency said. "Negative effects such as the sudden worsening of business are beginning to surface not only among travel agencies, airline companies and hotel operators, but in a wide range of sectors.

"It is clear that we are seeing an uptrend in bankruptcies. Many small and medium-size firms are likely to go under."

It said it will also be watching to see whether other large financially strapped companies will follow in the footsteps of Mycal from November, when companies release their midterm reports, to December.