diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index d6760d1ca2..a862b473ce 100755
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -4,9 +4,10 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
-## [Unreleased](https://github.com/ruflin/Elastica/compare/7.3.0...master)
+## [Unreleased](https://github.com/ruflin/Elastica/compare/7.3.0...8.x)
 ### Backward Compatibility Breaks
 * Dropped support for PHP <8.0 [#2131](https://github.com/ruflin/Elastica/pull/2131)
+* Dropped `Elastica\JSON` and `Elastica\Exception\JSONParseException`. Catch native `\JsonException` instead. [#2133](https://github.com/ruflin/Elastica/pull/2133)
 ### Added
 ### Changed
 ### Deprecated
diff --git a/src/Bulk/Action.php b/src/Bulk/Action.php
index d97fd82aeb..9a8a3eb7e8 100644
--- a/src/Bulk/Action.php
+++ b/src/Bulk/Action.php
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@
 
 use Elastica\Bulk;
 use Elastica\Index;
-use Elastica\JSON;
 
 class Action
 {
@@ -47,7 +46,7 @@ public function __construct(string $opType = self::OP_TYPE_INDEX, array $metadat
 
     public function __toString(): string
     {
-        $string = JSON::stringify($this->getActionMetadata(), \JSON_FORCE_OBJECT).Bulk::DELIMITER;
+        $string = \json_encode($this->getActionMetadata(), \JSON_FORCE_OBJECT | \JSON_PRESERVE_ZERO_FRACTION | \JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR).Bulk::DELIMITER;
 
         if ($this->hasSource()) {
             $source = $this->getSource();
@@ -61,7 +60,7 @@ public function __toString(): string
                 }
                 $string .= '{"doc": '.$source['doc'].$docAsUpsert.'}';
             } else {
-                $string .= JSON::stringify($source, \JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE);
+                $string .= \json_encode($source, \JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE | \JSON_PRESERVE_ZERO_FRACTION | \JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR);
             }
             $string .= Bulk::DELIMITER;
         }
diff --git a/src/Exception/JSONParseException.php b/src/Exception/JSONParseException.php
deleted file mode 100644
index cbb0e2ca81..0000000000
--- a/src/Exception/JSONParseException.php
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,12 +0,0 @@
-<?php
-
-namespace Elastica\Exception;
-
-/**
- * JSON Parse exception.
- *
- * @deprecated since version 7.2.0, catch \JsonException instead
- */
-class JSONParseException extends \JsonException implements ExceptionInterface
-{
-}
diff --git a/src/Exception/PartialShardFailureException.php b/src/Exception/PartialShardFailureException.php
index 6a8b51a738..3ad57a128f 100644
--- a/src/Exception/PartialShardFailureException.php
+++ b/src/Exception/PartialShardFailureException.php
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 
 namespace Elastica\Exception;
 
-use Elastica\JSON;
 use Elastica\Request;
 use Elastica\Response;
 
@@ -21,6 +20,6 @@ public function __construct(Request $request, Response $response)
         parent::__construct($request, $response);
 
         $shardsStatistics = $response->getShardsStatistics();
-        $this->message = JSON::stringify($shardsStatistics);
+        $this->message = \json_encode($shardsStatistics, \JSON_PRESERVE_ZERO_FRACTION | \JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR);
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/JSON.php b/src/JSON.php
deleted file mode 100644
index 58d46aeacc..0000000000
--- a/src/JSON.php
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,85 +0,0 @@
-<?php
-
-namespace Elastica;
-
-use Elastica\Exception\JSONParseException;
-
-/**
- * Elastica JSON tools.
- */
-class JSON
-{
-    /**
-     * Parse JSON string to an array.
-     *
-     * @see http://php.net/manual/en/function.json-decode.php
-     * @see http://php.net/manual/en/function.json-last-error.php
-     *
-     * @param mixed $args,... JSON string to parse
-     *
-     * @throws JSONParseException
-     *
-     * @return array PHP array representation of JSON string
-     */
-    public static function parse(...$args/* inherit from json_decode */)
-    {
-        // default to decoding into an assoc array
-        if (1 === \count($args)) {
-            $args[] = true;
-        }
-
-        // run decode
-        $array = \json_decode(...$args);
-
-        // turn errors into exceptions for easier catching
-        if ($error = self::getJsonLastErrorMsg()) {
-            throw new JSONParseException($error);
-        }
-
-        // output
-        return $array;
-    }
-
-    /**
-     * Convert input to JSON string with standard options.
-     *
-     * @see http://php.net/manual/en/function.json-encode.php
-     * @see http://php.net/manual/en/function.json-last-error.php
-     *
-     * @param mixed $args,... Target to stringify
-     *
-     * @throws JSONParseException
-     *
-     * @return string Valid JSON representation of $input
-     */
-    public static function stringify(...$args/* inherit from json_encode */)
-    {
-        // set defaults
-        isset($args[1]) ? $args[1] |= \JSON_PRESERVE_ZERO_FRACTION : $args[1] = \JSON_PRESERVE_ZERO_FRACTION;
-
-        // run encode and output
-        $string = \json_encode(...$args);
-
-        // turn errors into exceptions for easier catching
-        if ($error = self::getJsonLastErrorMsg()) {
-            throw new JSONParseException($error);
-        }
-
-        // output
-        return $string;
-    }
-
-    /**
-     * Get Json Last Error.
-     *
-     * @see http://php.net/manual/en/function.json-last-error.php
-     * @see http://php.net/manual/en/function.json-last-error-msg.php
-     * @see https://github.com/php/php-src/blob/master/ext/json/json.c#L308
-     *
-     * @return string
-     */
-    private static function getJsonLastErrorMsg()
-    {
-        return \JSON_ERROR_NONE !== \json_last_error() ? \json_last_error_msg() : false;
-    }
-}
diff --git a/src/Multi/Search.php b/src/Multi/Search.php
index cdca2e2055..74e6835cb3 100644
--- a/src/Multi/Search.php
+++ b/src/Multi/Search.php
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@
 namespace Elastica\Multi;
 
 use Elastica\Client;
-use Elastica\JSON;
 use Elastica\Request;
 use Elastica\Search as BaseSearch;
 
@@ -161,8 +160,8 @@ protected function _getSearchData(BaseSearch $search): string
         // Keep other query options as part of the search body
         $queryOptions = \array_diff_key($search->getOptions(), \array_flip(self::$HEADER_OPTIONS));
 
-        $data = JSON::stringify($header)."\n";
-        $data .= JSON::stringify($query->toArray() + $queryOptions)."\n";
+        $data = \json_encode($header, \JSON_PRESERVE_ZERO_FRACTION | \JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR)."\n";
+        $data .= \json_encode($query->toArray() + $queryOptions, \JSON_PRESERVE_ZERO_FRACTION | \JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR)."\n";
 
         return $data;
     }
diff --git a/src/Request.php b/src/Request.php
index 9985443edb..94ca77af9e 100644
--- a/src/Request.php
+++ b/src/Request.php
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ public function __construct(string $path, string $method = self::GET, $data = []
 
     public function __toString(): string
     {
-        return JSON::stringify($this->toArray());
+        return \json_encode($this->toArray(), \JSON_PRESERVE_ZERO_FRACTION | \JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR);
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/src/Response.php b/src/Response.php
index e6fdd53e71..d22448cc23 100644
--- a/src/Response.php
+++ b/src/Response.php
@@ -350,9 +350,9 @@ private function getResponseString()
         }
         try {
             if ($this->getJsonBigintConversion()) {
-                $response = JSON::parse($response, true, 512, \JSON_BIGINT_AS_STRING);
+                $response = \json_decode($response, true, flags: \JSON_BIGINT_AS_STRING | \JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR);
             } else {
-                $response = JSON::parse($response);
+                $response = $response = \json_decode($response, true, flags: \JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR);
             }
         } catch (\JsonException $e) {
             // leave response as is if parse fails
diff --git a/src/Transport/Guzzle.php b/src/Transport/Guzzle.php
index fd9d9d5ba9..57967ce739 100755
--- a/src/Transport/Guzzle.php
+++ b/src/Transport/Guzzle.php
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@
 use Elastica\Exception\Connection\GuzzleException;
 use Elastica\Exception\PartialShardFailureException;
 use Elastica\Exception\ResponseException;
-use Elastica\JSON;
 use Elastica\Request;
 use Elastica\Response;
 use Elastica\Util;
@@ -201,7 +200,7 @@ protected function _getActionPath(Request $request): string
     private function streamFor($data): StreamInterface
     {
         if (\is_array($data)) {
-            $data = JSON::stringify($data, \JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE);
+            $data = \json_encode($data, \JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE | \JSON_PRESERVE_ZERO_FRACTION | \JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR);
         }
 
         return \class_exists(Psr7\Utils::class)
diff --git a/src/Transport/Http.php b/src/Transport/Http.php
index eaf2140b25..1f8255b0f7 100644
--- a/src/Transport/Http.php
+++ b/src/Transport/Http.php
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@
 use Elastica\Exception\ConnectionException;
 use Elastica\Exception\PartialShardFailureException;
 use Elastica\Exception\ResponseException;
-use Elastica\JSON;
 use Elastica\Request;
 use Elastica\Response;
 use Elastica\Util;
@@ -128,7 +127,7 @@ public function exec(Request $request, array $params): Response
             }
 
             if (\is_array($data)) {
-                $content = JSON::stringify($data, \JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE | \JSON_UNESCAPED_SLASHES);
+                $content = \json_encode($data, \JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE | \JSON_UNESCAPED_SLASHES | \JSON_PRESERVE_ZERO_FRACTION | \JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR);
             } else {
                 $content = $data;
 
diff --git a/src/Transport/HttpAdapter.php b/src/Transport/HttpAdapter.php
index 573faa8eb7..69f2878d32 100644
--- a/src/Transport/HttpAdapter.php
+++ b/src/Transport/HttpAdapter.php
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@
 use Elastica\Connection;
 use Elastica\Exception\PartialShardFailureException;
 use Elastica\Exception\ResponseException;
-use Elastica\JSON;
 use Elastica\Request as ElasticaRequest;
 use Elastica\Response;
 use Elastica\Response as ElasticaResponse;
@@ -109,7 +108,7 @@ protected function _createHttpAdapterRequest(ElasticaRequest $elasticaRequest, C
             }
 
             if (\is_array($data)) {
-                $body = JSON::stringify($data, \JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE);
+                $body = \json_encode($data, \JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE | \JSON_PRESERVE_ZERO_FRACTION | \JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR);
             } else {
                 $body = $data;
             }
diff --git a/src/Transport/NullTransport.php b/src/Transport/NullTransport.php
index add545f666..6760b59a18 100644
--- a/src/Transport/NullTransport.php
+++ b/src/Transport/NullTransport.php
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 
 namespace Elastica\Transport;
 
-use Elastica\JSON;
 use Elastica\Request;
 use Elastica\Response;
 
@@ -73,7 +72,7 @@ public function generateDefaultResponse(array $params): Response
             'params' => $params,
         ];
 
-        return new Response(JSON::stringify($response));
+        return new Response(\json_encode($response, \JSON_PRESERVE_ZERO_FRACTION | \JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR));
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/src/Util.php b/src/Util.php
index 3837a5622a..3fa2e66541 100644
--- a/src/Util.php
+++ b/src/Util.php
@@ -245,7 +245,7 @@ public static function convertRequestToCurlCommand(Request $request)
 
         $data = $request->getData();
         if (!empty($data)) {
-            $message .= ' -d \''.JSON::stringify($data).'\'';
+            $message .= ' -d \''.\json_encode($data, \JSON_PRESERVE_ZERO_FRACTION | \JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR).'\'';
         }
 
         return $message;
diff --git a/tests/Exception/JSONParseExceptionTest.php b/tests/Exception/JSONParseExceptionTest.php
deleted file mode 100644
index 3d36de7622..0000000000
--- a/tests/Exception/JSONParseExceptionTest.php
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,10 +0,0 @@
-<?php
-
-namespace Elastica\Test\Exception;
-
-/**
- * @internal
- */
-class JSONParseExceptionTest extends AbstractExceptionTest
-{
-}
diff --git a/tests/Exception/PartialShardFailureExceptionTest.php b/tests/Exception/PartialShardFailureExceptionTest.php
index 1e0130c9c1..88a21a00ef 100644
--- a/tests/Exception/PartialShardFailureExceptionTest.php
+++ b/tests/Exception/PartialShardFailureExceptionTest.php
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@
 
 use Elastica\Document;
 use Elastica\Exception\PartialShardFailureException;
-use Elastica\JSON;
 use Elastica\Query;
 use Elastica\ResultSet\DefaultBuilder;
 
@@ -61,7 +60,7 @@ public function testPartialFailure(): void
             $resultSet = $builder->buildResultSet($e->getResponse(), $query);
             $this->assertCount(0, $resultSet->getResults());
 
-            $message = JSON::parse($e->getMessage());
+            $message = \json_decode($e->getMessage(), true, flags: \JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR);
             $this->assertArrayHasKey('failures', $message, 'Failures are absent');
             $this->assertGreaterThan(0, \count($message['failures']), 'Failures are empty');
         }
diff --git a/tests/JSONTest.php b/tests/JSONTest.php
deleted file mode 100644
index ad17404ddc..0000000000
--- a/tests/JSONTest.php
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,43 +0,0 @@
-<?php
-
-namespace Elastica\Test;
-
-use Elastica\Exception\JSONParseException;
-use Elastica\JSON;
-use PHPUnit\Framework\TestCase;
-
-/**
- * JSONTest.
- *
- * @author Oleg Andreyev <oleg.andreyev@intexsys.lv>
- *
- * @internal
- */
-class JSONTest extends TestCase
-{
-    public function testStringifyMustNotThrowExceptionOnValid(): void
-    {
-        JSON::stringify([]);
-        $this->assertTrue(true);
-    }
-
-    public function testStringifyMustThrowExceptionNanOrInf(): void
-    {
-        $this->expectException(JSONParseException::class);
-        $this->expectExceptionMessage('Inf and NaN cannot be JSON encoded');
-
-        $arr = [\NAN, \INF];
-        JSON::stringify($arr);
-        $this->assertTrue(true);
-    }
-
-    public function testStringifyMustThrowExceptionMaximumDepth(): void
-    {
-        $this->expectException(JSONParseException::class);
-        $this->expectExceptionMessage('Maximum stack depth exceeded');
-
-        $arr = [[[]]];
-        JSON::stringify($arr, 0, 0);
-        $this->assertTrue(true);
-    }
-}