Feb 04 (Japan Today) - A record 2,170 cases of child abuse were investigated last year in Japan, up 1.7 percent from the previous year, as the coronavirus pandemic continued to reduce opportunities for welfare workers to intervene, a police report showed Thursday.
The number of minors referred to child welfare centers nationwide due to suspicion of abuse, meanwhile, also reached a record high at 108,050, up 1.0 percent from the previous year and surpassing 100,000 for the second consecutive year, the National Police Agency said in a preliminary report. It defines minors as children aged under 18.
By category, 80,299 minors suffered verbal or emotional abuse, 19,185 physically abuse, 8,270 neglect and 296 sexual abuse. Psychological and sexual abuse both increased from the previous year.
"As the novel coronavirus pandemic is feared to reduce opportunities to watch over children, we will continue to monitor information that could lead to uncovering abuse," an NPA official said.
The NPA report, which also gave overall crime statistics, said the number of offenses recorded in Japan last year fell for the seventh consecutive year to a record low in the postwar era, totaling 568,148.
From January to March 2021, when the government declared a state of emergency over the coronavirus, the number of street crimes such as bag snatching was significantly lower than the figure in the same period the year before.
A total of 2,192 cases were recorded related to defrauding the state out of receiving subsidies aimed to help coronavirus pandemic-hit businesses.
Source: ANNnewsCH
