Japan to Test GPS Tracking of Sex Offenders on Parole

Tokyo, Sept. 11 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Justice Ministry plans to launch a pilot program to track sex offenders on parole with GPS devices from as early as fiscal 2027, which begins next April, officials said Friday. Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi told a press conference Friday that expenses related to the pilot program were included in the ministry’s fiscal 2027 budget request. Only parolees who consent to participate in the program will be monitored with GPS devices, which are not slated to be attached to parolees’ bodies. “We are thinking of trying a method that can be handled under the current law,” Hiraguchi said. The offenders rehabilitation law requires parolees to receive guidance and supervision from probation officers and volunteer probation officers. The system is intended to help prevent recidivism and promote rehabilitation by allowing probation officers to provide guidance if signs of possible reoffending are detected. Under the program, the ministry is considering providing guidance through interviews and other methods if parolees’ location data indicates behavior potentially linked to crime. The program will be conducted in a way that places as little burden as possible on parolees. The type of GPS device to be used has yet to be decided. If the program proves effective, it will be implemented on a full scale. The second Recidivism Prevention Plan, adopted at a cabinet meeting in 2023, states that the government will “consider measures to enhance the treatment of sex offenders,” citing examples of systems introduced in foreign countries. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]