TOKYO, January 15 (RIA Novosti) - Japan recorded 1,300 suicides in 2008, an 8.4% increase on the previously prosperous 2007, the National Police Agency said on Thursday.

Police have blamed the rise in the suicide rate on the worsening economic situation in the country amid the global financial crisis and large-scale job losses.

The suicide rate in 2007, when the Japanese economy was buoyant, was the country's lowest in the last few years.

During the same period, the crime rate in the country fell by 4.7% to 1.8 million recorded crimes, showing a downward trend for the sixth consecutive year.