The number of corporate bankruptcies rose 4.1 percent in October from a year earlier to 1,171, eclipsing the year-before level for the first time in two months, credit research agency Tokyo Shoko Research said Tuesday.

Debts left by the failed firms fell 19.2 percent to 635.01 billion yen, staying below 1.00 trillion yen for the 19th straight month, the agency said.

Tokyo Shoko Research's data cover failures of firms with debts of 10 million yen or more.

The number of small bankruptcies, with debts of less than 100 million yen, came to 756, which accounted for 64.5 percent of all insolvencies.