TOKYO, JAPAN - A RECORD 268 people were officially recognised as suffering mental disorders from job-related stress and overwork in Japan for the year to March 2008, the government said.

It was up from 205 a year earlier and the second consecutive annual gain, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said in a survey released on Friday.

Of them, 81 committed suicide for the year, also a record high, the ministry said.

Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. A government survey recently found almost 20 per cent of Japanese adults have considered killing themselves, with half the respondents saying movies and television are contributing to the high suicide rate.

The country has recently seen dozens of suicides and attempts using hydrogen sulphide gas produced according to instructions easily sourced on the Internet.