A total 982 venture businesses resulted from universities and government research institutes' developments as of the end of August, the University of Tsukuba said in a report released Thursday.
In 2003, a record 179 venture businesses were founded, the state-run university said.
Waseda University led other universities, with 65 venture businesses, followed by Osaka University and Keio University.
About half of the businesses are related to information and communications technology as well as biotechnology and developments in life science.
The report also found that 26 university-launched venture firms had gone out of business.
The University of Tsukuba, together with Yokohama National University, compiled the results from a questionnaire completed by 574 universities and government research institutes.