Crimes in Japan Rise 17 pct in 2023
Security personnel guard near Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan, May 17, 2023. Security personnel guard near Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan, May 17, 2023. Photo: Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu
- By Xinhua News Agency
- February 9, 2024 1:00 PM
TOKYO -- The number of police-recognized criminal offenses in Japan in 2023 increased 17 percent from the previous year to 703,351, data showed Thursday.
Among them, the number of serious crimes, including murder and sexual assault cases, climbed 29.8 percent to 12,372, and that of robberies rose 18.6 percent to 1,361, according to the National Police Agency (NPA).
Meanwhile, sexual offenses in the country surged 63.8 percent to 2,711, following a Penal Code revision last July which broadened the scope of criminal offenses.
Referring to the second straight year of increase in crimes, NPA officials said that it would be premature to conclude that the security situation in Japan has deteriorated.
In 2022, the number of overall crimes in Japan marked the first rise in 20 years due chiefly to the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.
