Japan continues to see a rise in reported instances of domestic violence, with police taking action on a record 9,088 cases in 2018, the National Police Agency said Thursday, marking the 15th consecutive annual increase since the agency began collecting such data in 2003.

The NPA said increased social awareness of the issue is believed to have resulted in a rise in the number of people seeking police consultations, leading to arrests and other actions. The 2018 figure was up 666 from a year before.

The NPA said there were 77,482 cases of people contacting local police about domestic violence problems, an increase of 5,027.