diff --git a/velocity-tools-generic/src/main/java/org/apache/velocity/tools/generic/EscapeTool.java b/velocity-tools-generic/src/main/java/org/apache/velocity/tools/generic/EscapeTool.java
index a171beb3b..a638e1691 100644
--- a/velocity-tools-generic/src/main/java/org/apache/velocity/tools/generic/EscapeTool.java
+++ b/velocity-tools-generic/src/main/java/org/apache/velocity/tools/generic/EscapeTool.java
@@ -44,6 +44,9 @@
  *  $javascript                  -> He didn't say, "Stop!"
  *  $esc.javascript($javascript) -> He didn\'t say, \"Stop!\"
  *
+ *  $json                        -> He didn't say, "Stop!"
+ *  $esc.json($json)             -> He didn't say, \"Stop!\"
+ *
  *  $html                        -> "bread" & "butter"
  *  $esc.html($html)             -> "bread" & "butter"
  *
@@ -301,6 +304,18 @@ public String javascript(Object string)
         return StringEscapeUtils.escapeEcmaScript(String.valueOf(string));
     }
 
+    /**
+     * <p>Escapes the characters in a <code>String</code> using JSON String rules.</p>
+     * <p>Delegates the process to {@link #java(String)}.</p>
+     *
+     * @param string the string to escape values, may be null
+     * @return String with escaped values, <code>null</code> if null string input
+     */
+    public String json(Object string)
+    {
+        return java(string);
+    }
+
     /**
      * <p>Escapes the characters in a <code>String</code> using HTML entities.</p>
      * <p>Delegates the process to {@link StringEscapeUtils#escapeHtml4(String)}.</p>