diff --git a/HISTORY.md b/HISTORY.md
index c9b0b5b9..a28ccccf 100644
--- a/HISTORY.md
+++ b/HISTORY.md
@@ -1,3 +1,7 @@
+Unreleased
+===================
+* refactor(json): simplify strict mode error string construction 
+
 1.20.4 / 2025-12-01
 ===================
 
diff --git a/lib/types/json.js b/lib/types/json.js
index 59f3f7e2..d1f510d9 100644
--- a/lib/types/json.js
+++ b/lib/types/json.js
@@ -158,11 +158,7 @@ function createStrictSyntaxError (str, char) {
   var partial = ''
 
   if (index !== -1) {
-    partial = str.substring(0, index) + JSON_SYNTAX_CHAR
-
-    for (var i = index + 1; i < str.length; i++) {
-      partial += JSON_SYNTAX_CHAR
-    }
+    partial = str.substring(0, index) + new Array(str.length - index + 1).join(JSON_SYNTAX_CHAR)
   }
 
   try {