Text Size
Print
Email
International News
- Text Size
- Print
- Email
Japan Crime Rate To Hit 23 Year Low
The number of crime cases detected by police in Japan in 2010 looks set to total below 1.6 million for the first time in 23 years, according to a preliminary report compiled by the National Police Agency on Thursday.
In the report that totaled data from January to November, 1,465,223 cases were reported during the period, down 6.9% from the same period a year before and the annual number looks certain to mark the eighth straight yearly decline.
The annual number of crime cases has been on the decline since 2003, after the number had increased and reached a postwar high each year between 1996 and 2002, when it surpassed 2.85 million.
The number of murder-related crimes including murders, attempted murders and murder preparation, is also seen hitting a fresh low this year after marking a record low since the end of World War II last year, as it came to 988 cases as of the end of November, down 2.8% from a year before.
However, the agency said that even though the overall crime figure has been decreasing, many citizens do not perceive that to be the case due to recurring heinous incidents.
It also said the number remains high compared with an annual 1.2 million level seen in the late 1960s.
Of all the criminal cases in the first 11 months of the year, the rate of those cases in which police made arrests or questioned suspects was 31.8%, down 0.5 percentage point from the same period a year before.
The number of thefts, white-collar crimes and heinous crimes such as murder, rape and burglary decreased from a year before but moral offense cases, including indecent assaults and illegal gambling, increased by 7%, totaling 10,157.
Osaka, which hsd the highest number of purse snatching cases for 34 years in a row, may see the record snapped as Chiba had exceeded Osaka’s number as of November.
2024 The Background Investigator. All Rights Reserved.