Society

Crime in Japan hits postwar low but child abuse cases on the rise

Feb 07 (Japan Times) - The number of criminal offenses recorded by police in 2019 dropped 8.4 percent from the previous year to 748,623, hitting a postwar low for the fifth straight year, the National Police Agency said Thursday.

The figure has declined 17 years in a row, according to a preliminary survey report from the agency.

The decline mainly reflected a fall in the number of cases of theft thanks to crime prevention efforts by local governments and volunteers, and the increased use of security cameras.

But police launched investigations into a record 1,957 child abuse cases in 2019, up 41.8 percent from the previous year, an official report showed Thursday.

The suspected abuse of a record 97,842 children under 18 was reported to child welfare centers, up 21.9 percent from 2018 and ballooning over 2Â½ times over the past five years, the National Police Agency said.

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