The number of corporate bankruptcies rose 15.8 percent in July from a year earlier to 1,814, marking a postwar record for the month and the first increase in three months, Teikoku Databank Ltd. said Wednesday.

The number of insolvent companies surpassed the 1,800 line for the first time in eight months, marking the worst monthly figure this year, the private credit-research agency said.

Liabilities left by the failed firms soared 61.1 percent from a year earlier to 1.204 trillion yen, the third-highest postwar figure, the agency said.

The agency attributed this increase to a number of large-scale bankruptcies during the month, including those of Dai Nippon Construction and major rope maker Tesac Corp.

Dai Nippon went under with liabilities of 271.21 billion yen, while Tesac had liabilities of 39.8 billion yen.

The bankruptcy data cover failures involving liabilities of 10 million yen or more.

The number of corporate bankruptcies in the January-July period stood at 11,686 cases, the third-highest postwar figure.

Corporate failures have been on the rise due to a recession triggered by deflation, the agency said.

"The number of corporate failures is expected to well surpass the 20,000 mark this year to hit a postwar record," Teikoku Databank said.

The failures of Dai Nippon Construction and Tesac brought the number of listed companies that have failed in 2002 to 24, meaning it has already surpassed the previous annual record of 14 posted in 1997 and 2001, Teikoku Databank said.

The number of insolvent firms increased in all industrial sectors, while 210 firms in the service industry went bankrupt in July, marking the worst monthly figure for 2002 and the second-worst figure in the postwar period, it said.

The number of companies that fell victim in July to last year's outbreak of mad cow disease stood at eight, bringing the total figure since October to 72. Recession-induced failures or bankruptcies caused by poor sales and exports, difficulties in recovering sales credits and an industry slump totaled 1,376 cases, accounting for 75.9 percent of the total.

July was the third consecutive month in which the ratio of corporate failures in this bracket stayed above 75 percent of the total.

Meanwhile, the number of companies that sought court protection from creditors under the fast-track Civil Rehabilitation Law reached 83, bringing the cumulative number to 2,161 since the law took effect in April 2000, it said.