TOKYO -- Some 737,679 criminal cases were recorded by police across Japan in 2024, marking an about 4.9% rise over 2023 and a third straight year of increases, the National Police Agency (NPA) announced Feb. 6.

While lower than the approximately 749,000 cases recorded in 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic, 76.6% of the 5,000 respondents in an October 2024 NPA survey said they felt that public safety had "worsened" or "somewhat worsened" over the past decade, a 4.7 percentage point increase from the previous year.

Criminal offenses have been on the decline since their postwar peak in 2002, which saw about 2.85 million cases, but are increasing in recent years. Regarding whether this indicates a shift toward an upward trend, an agency official stated, "There is no significant trend change compared to the previous year. Some crimes are decreasing, so we cannot provide a definitive answer."

In 2024, street crimes, such as snatching someone's belongings, increased by about 4.6% to 255,247 cases. Bicycle thefts rose by 6.0% to 174,020 cases, contributing to the overall increase. Serious crimes, including robbery, rose by 18.1% to 14,614 cases.

For sex crimes, whose laws were revised in July 2023, nonconsensual indecent acts increased by 14.7% to 6,992 cases, and rape and similar acts were up by 45.2% to 3,936 cases. Violations of the law prohibiting secret filming more than tripled to 8,436 cases. The NPA attributes this rise to clearer definitions of illegal acts and the push to make consultation services easily accessible.

In addition, defamation and insults related to online slander increased by 2.9% to a total of 1,001 cases.

(Japanese original by Masakatsu Yamasaki, Tokyo City News Department)