Police have prevented nine suicides thanks to an online crackdown launched two months ago in cooperation with Internet service providers, an official said Thursday.

The crackdown, launched Oct. 5, came in response to the escalating death toll facilitated by online postings or Web sites that help people meet to carry out group suicides.

Under the new guidelines, service providers are urged to report the names and addresses of people apparently considering suicide.

So far, police have intervened to save seven people believed in danger of committing suicide and two others who were apparently attempting to kill themselves, National Police Agency spokeswoman Keiko Ohashi said.

Japan, which has one of the highest suicide rates among wealthy countries, has budgeted hundreds of millions of yen for programs to help people suffering from depression and other psychological conditions.

But the impact of the efforts has been minimal, especially on those who use the Internet to help them complete the act.

For the year through August, 75 people have killed themselves in Web-related suicides, up from 55 for all of last year, Ohashi said.