The number of youths receiving student loans for their high school studies because their fathers committed suicide has increased rapidly in recent years amid the economic downturn, a Tokyo-based private scholarship group said.

Ashinaga Ikuei Kai said in a report released last week that of the high school students it accepted for scholarships in fiscal 2000, 144 lost fathers to suicide. This is seven times that of fiscal 1998.

As of Sept. 30, the number for this fiscal year had already reached 112 and is sure to reach a new high by the end of the year in March, the group said.

According to the group, the latest figure reflects the impact of the country's recession and unemployment anxieties.

Nearly half of the cases -- 46.5 percent -- blame unemployment or bankruptcy as the main reason for the suicide of one or both parents. The ratio was nearly 20 percentage points higher than the previous year, it said.

Ashinaga said the fathers of most of the beneficiaries are or were middle-aged men working in their prime.

Ashinaga provides financial and emotional support to children whose parents have died, are unable to work or have incurred financial difficulties.

"Ashinaga" refers to "Daddy Long Legs," a book about an orphan who was supported by a generous benefactor. "Ikuei Kai" means scholarship association.