More than 9,000 women visited prefectural counseling centers across Japan to seek advice on domestic violence in fiscal 2000, surpassing the number that sought counseling on divorce, according to a government survey released this week.

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry survey -- the first to include a separate category for domestic violence -- showed that 9,176 consultations on domestic violence were made at 47 women's counseling centers in the year ending March 31, accounting for some 16.7 percent of all 54,835 consultations.

Women seeking advice on divorce numbered 8,586.

In previous surveys, the ministry grouped domestic violence consultations with those on alcohol-related violence committed by spouses or partners. Divorce was the number one reason for seeking advice.

In fiscal 1996, the number of consultations for domestic and alcohol-related violence by spouses or partners totaled 5,000. The new numbers for domestic violence alone, meanwhile, are about 1.8 times the number recorded in fiscal 1996.

Of the 9,176 consultations on domestic violence, 1,495 were made in Tokyo, 1,265 in Kanagawa Prefecture, 624 in Fukuoka Prefecture and 571 in Aichi Prefecture.

The third most common consultation was related to poverty and totaled 6,206, the survey said.

Murders and injuries related to domestic violence numbered 1,096 in 2000, about double the figure in 1999, according to the National Police Agency. In October, a new law to combat domestic violence will come into force, and women's counseling centers are expected to play a key role in supporting victims. The ministry on Tuesday instructed those public facilities to strengthen efforts to rescue battered women.

In order to alleviate psychological damage, such as depression and posttraumatic stress disorder, the ministry also plans to dispatch experts to the counseling centers in April 2002 to provide psychotherapy for victimized women.

Domestic violence is defined as physical, sexual, or verbal abuse.