Tokyo, Feb 2 : Japan's crime rate increased for the first time in 20 years in 2022, as relaxed Covid-19 regulations may have led to a rise in instances of street crime, a police said on Thursday. According to the National Police Agency, there were 601,389 instances of crime in the recording period, marking an increase of 5.9 per cent from 2021, reports Xinhua news agency. According to the agency, the most serious crimes, including murder, climbed 8.1 per cent to 9,536, while domestic violence consultations and cases involving suspected child abuse hit record highs. Regarding suspected child abuse cases leading to the police getting in touch with child consultation centres, cases involving a record 115,730 minors were reported in 2022. The data also showed that instances of domestic violence climbed to 84,493 in the recording period. Street crime rose 14.4 per cent from the previous year to 201,619 cases, the data showed, while there were 19,129 cases of stalking resulting in the police being consulted. Illegal or fraudulent online money transfers were up for the first time in three years, totaling 1,131 cases, the data showed, while cyber-attacks against companies and organisations using ransomware, jumped 57.5 per cent, the agency said. Special fraud cases leading to financial damage, meanwhile, marked the first increase in eight years in the recording period, climbing almost 30 per cent and totaling 36.14 billion yen ($280 million) in damages, the data showed. /IANS