TOKYO, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Corporate bankruptcies in Japan fell 16.6 percent in December, from a year earlier, to 1,136 cases, marking a fifth consecutive month of decline, credit research company Tokyo Shoko Research, Ltd. said on Wednesday.

    As big firm bankruptcies decreased in December, the total amount of debt involved dropped by almost 50 percent to 295.6 billion yen (3.35 billion U.S. dollars), the third lowest amount last year, the report said.

    For 2009, Japanese corporate bankruptcy dropped 1.1 percent from a year earlier to 15,480 cases, the first decline in four years, with the total amount of debt involved down 43.62 percent to 6.93 trillion yen, the data showed.

    The drop in corporate bankruptcies is being attributed in part to improving business prospects from renewed domestic and foreign demand, analyst indicate, citing Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's 7.2 trillion yen (79 billion U.S. dollar) stimulus package and provisions made to allow smaller firms to obtain loans, as factors contributing to the containment of bankruptcy filing by Japanese firms.

    The statistic compiled by Tokyo Shoko Research, Ltd. cover nationwide business failures of companies with 10 million yen or more in debts.

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