The number of corporate bankruptcies dropped 2.06 percent from a year earlier to 1,041 in January, the 18th straight month of decline, as government financial aid apparently kept many businesses afloat, a credit research firm said Tuesday.
The debts left by the failed firms plunged 90.91 percent to ¥236.40 billion, the third straight monthly drop, as their year-earlier figure was inflated by the bankruptcies of heavily indebted Japan Airlines Corp. and its two group firms, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
By industry sector, failures of manufacturers increased for the first time in 17 months to 164 and those of real estate firms climbed to a one-year high of 53. The figure for retailers rose for the second consecutive month to 145.