July saw 1,051 corporate bankruptcies, up 2.6 percent from 1,024 a year earlier, a private research institute said Monday.
Debts left by the failed companies dropped 35.2 percent to 309.9 billion yen, the lowest figure for any July since 1991, according to data released by Tokyo Shoko Research.
It attributed the decline in debt to few large-scale bankruptcies and more small-scale business failures.
Reflecting the recent economic recovery, bankruptcies continue to drop, the private agency said.
The data cover corporate bankruptcies with debts of 10 million yen or more.
The number of business failures increased in six industrial sectors out of 10 monitored, namely information-telecommunications, finance-insurance, construction, wholesale, retail and service.
In contrast, bankruptcies declined in three sectors -- real estate, transport and manufacturing, while that for the farm, forestry, fishery and mining sectors remained unchanged.
According to a report by private research firm Teikoku Databank, the number of corporate bankruptcies amounted to 746 in July, up 10.5 percent from a year earlier, leaving debts of 354.84 billion yen, down 15.0 percent.
The debt figure was the second lowest this year, following 325.28 billion yen marked in February, it said.
The report by Teikoku Databank covers only corporate failures filed with courts and involving debts of 10 million yen or more.