TOKYO (AP) -- Reported cases of child abuse in Japan continue to rise and hit a new high last fiscal year, according to a government report released Tuesday.

The number of cases rose to 40,618 in the year through March, nearly a 9 percent jump from 37,323 the previous year, which was also a record, according to a Health Ministry report.

Reported cases have nearly quadrupled over the last eight fiscal years, driven in part by increased public awareness of child abuse.

The largest single-year jump in recent history was 6,839 cases, or 26 percent, to 33,408 in 2004. That year Japan passed a law mobilizing welfare workers and police to combat child abuse, and requiring the public to inform authorities of evidence of suspected abuse such as bruises on a child's body.

Experts say social problems including the increasing income gap between Japan's rich and poor, a rising divorce rate and the decline of the extended family have also contributed to the surge in cases.

Government efforts to fight abuse have been hindered because children were long considered the belongings of their parents, who often justified the use of violence as discipline.

Child abuse has grabbed headlines in recent years with several shocking cases. Last year police arrested a mother whose 3-year-old son died after she allegedly forced him to swallow large amounts of hot red pepper.

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