Corporate bankruptcies fell for a fourth month in November to their lowest level in almost two years, a sign that government measures to support smaller firms are working, Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd. said Tuesday.
Business failures slid 11.4 percent from a year earlier to 1,132 cases, the fewest since December 2007, it said.
Emergency measures have shored up ailing businesses in the wake of last year's financial crisis, limiting the number of corporate failures.
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama unveiled a ¥7.2 trillion spending package Tuesday that extends existing programs to guarantee loans to small and midsize companies, which employ about 70 percent of the workforce.
"Sales at these companies are still very bad because of deflation," said Tatsushi Shikano, senior economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co. "But the worst is over for them, and with expanded government support, we should see further improvement."
The new stimulus plan pledges ¥1.2 trillion in financial measures to help companies, including extending policies to help small and medium-size enterprises obtain loans and reduce interest rates on their borrowings.
Bankruptcies soared at their fastest pace in eight years in September 2008 as companies including Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s Japan unit failed.