Criminal Law Violations in Japan Rise 4.9 Pct in 2024

Tokyo, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)–The number of criminal law violations recognized in Japan in 2024 rose 4.9 pct from the previous year to 737,679, increasing for the third straight year and returning to almost the same level as 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Justice Ministry said Friday. Of the total, the number of rapes surged 45.2 pct to 3,936 and that of indecent acts climbed 14.7 pct to 6,992. The increases apparently came as the revised criminal law, which took effect in July 2023, made conditions for punishments clearer. The number of theft cases grew 3.7 pct to 501,507, or about 70 pct of total criminal law violations. The number of fraud cases climbed 24.6 pct to 57,324. The number of people handled by authorities over criminal law violations rose 4.7 pct to 191,826, nearly the same level as 2019. The ministry said that 92.3 pct of victims of motorcycle theft and 57.5 pct of those of bicycle theft reported the cases to authorities. The rate of reports was low for sexual assault, at 25 pct, and stalking, at 33.3 pct. In sexual assault cases, over 70 pct of victims had intellectual disabilities. Offenders were mostly caretakers. The ministry also said the proportion of released inmates who go to prison again within two years rose 0.8 percentage point from the previous year to 13.8 pct in 2023, the first increase in nine years. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]