Crime in Japan - statistics & facts
Criminal offenses committed by Japanese citizens aged 20 years and older are judged and penalized according to the Penal Code enacted in 1907. Other acts regulate punishments for specified crimes, such as the Act on the Punishment of Inflicting Death or Injury on Others by Driving a Motor Vehicle, Stimulants Control Acts, and Act against Child Prostitution and Pornography. After the police apprehend a suspect, prosecutors decide on the indictment of suspects. The Courts of Justice adjudge the conviction and severity of the punishment ranging from minor fines, detention at a penal institution for up to 29 days, fines for more than 10 thousand Japanese yen, imprisonment (with or without penal labor), to the death penalty. As of 2020, 102 male and seven female prison inmates in Japan were awaiting the carrying out of the death sentence.
The National Public Safety Commission and the National Police Agency (NPA) are the central body of the Japanese police organization and reside in Tokyo Prefecture. They administer national safety, national police system, and cooperation among Prefectural Police (PP). Each prefectural government, including Tokyo Metropolitan Government, authorizes the Prefectural Public Safety Commission and PP. Prefectural Commission and PP are responsible for the safety in the respective region.
Despite the overall improvement of both crime rate and clearance rate in the past decade in general, violations of Special Acts involving, for example, cybercrime, child abuse, special fraud such as phone fraud, have increased in recent years. The NPA also raised concerns about the high recidivism rate and the share of repeat offenders, promoting programs for repeated crime prevention.
Crime tendency in Japan
The number of Penal Code offenses reported to the Japanese police rose at the end of the 1990s and peaked in 2002. The case numbers then steadily declined for almost two decades. In 2021, the number of recognized criminal offenses reached approximately 568 thousand, less than a quarter of that two decades earlier. In 2020, after 17 consecutive years of decrease, the crime rate was 486.6 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The most frequently occurring crime in the nation has continued to be theft, making up the majority of the recorded cases. The overall clearance rate of Penal Code offenses in 2020 was 45.5 percent, while the larceny case clearance rate reached almost 41 percent.Despite the overall improvement of both crime rate and clearance rate in the past decade in general, violations of Special Acts involving, for example, cybercrime, child abuse, special fraud such as phone fraud, have increased in recent years. The NPA also raised concerns about the high recidivism rate and the share of repeat offenders, promoting programs for repeated crime prevention.
