Initial public offerings in Japan will climb to the highest in three years as investors regain confidence sapped by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, according to Nomura Holdings Inc., the top-ranked arranger of Japanese stock sales.

At least 15 companies will probably announce debut share sales from Oct. 1, bringing the number of IPOs to 35 to 40 by the end of the year, exceeding last year's 22 and the 19 in 2009, said Masaharu Kambe, head of Nomura's IPO department.

Medical research ventures, game makers, manufacturers and solar energy firms are among companies preparing offerings, he said.