More Municipalities in Japan Support Crime Victims

Tokyo, Dec. 12 (Jiji Press)–Over 1,000 municipalities in Japan have ordinances in place calling for measures to support crime victims, the central government said Friday. The number of such municipalities rose by 236 from a year earlier to 1,083 as of April. All municipalities in 15 prefectures, including Miyagi and Hyogo, had such ordinances. In 13 prefectures, such as Iwate and Aichi, only less than 30 pct of municipalities had such ordinances. Among the 20 ordinance-designated major cities, only Fukuoka and Kitakyushu had no such ordinances. All of the country’s 47 prefectures had such ordinances. A condolence payment program for crime victims and bereaved families was in place in 23 prefectures as of April, up two from a year earlier, 20 ordinance-designated cities, up three, and 1,099 other municipalities, up 236. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]