Child abuse, child pornography cases hit record levels in first half of 2007

The Mainichi Shimbun
August 10, 2007
Source: http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20070810p2a00m0na003000c.html

A total of 149 child-abuse cases in which police arrested or reported suspects to public prosecutors occurred during the first six months of this year, while 266 such child-pornography cases were reported, a report by the National Police Agency has shown.

Both figures were the highest since police started recording data in 2000. The number of child-abuse cases was 24.2 percent higher than the figure recorded during the same period last year, while child-pornography cases rose 18.8 percent.

The number of children to die in child-abuse cases fell 35 percent to 18 people during the period, but the overall number of abused children, including those who died, hit 157, a 22.7 percent increase compared with the previous year and the worst figure on record.

Police said 164 people were arrested or reported to public prosecutors in child abuse cases reported during the period. They said 120 of the child victims were physically abused, 27 were sexually abused, and 10 children failed to receive proper care in their upbringing. Twenty-two of the victims were aged under 1 year old and 10 were aged 1.

During the first half of the year, 162 people were either arrested or reported to public prosecutors over child pornography, the police report showed. The number of victims in these cases hit 122, an 87.7 percent increase compared with the previous year.

In 129 of the cases, children were photographed naked. In 68 of these cases, the children were lured though messages on Internet bulletin boards or similar means.

Police said that 718 child prostitution cases were reported during the period. The number of child victims in these cases totaled 651. Two of the children were elementary school students, 210 were junior high school students and 265 were high school students. (Mainichi)

August 10, 2007

Child abuse cases soar 24.2% to record high for first half

The Japan Times
Friday, Aug. 10, 2007
Source: http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070810a9.html

Kyodo News--The number of child abuse cases in which police took action hit 149 between January and June, up 24.2 percent from a year earlier and the most since equivalent data became available in 2000, the National Police Agency said Thursday.

Of cases involving victims under 18 years old, 113 involved physical abuse and 27 sexual abuse. Of the 164 alleged offenders in these cases, 48 were the victims' biological mothers and 45 their biological fathers, the NPA said.

Of the 157 children abused, 22 were under 1 year old.

Eighteen children died from abuse during the half-year period, compared with 28 the year before. NPA officials said police are trying to prevent child abuse from leading to death by dispatching officers to households where abuses are suspected.

The NPA also said the number of juvenile delinquents confirmed in the six-month period stood at 46,901, down 6.2 percent from a year ago and the lowest since data became available in 1979.

The number of bag snatchings and muggings committed by youths between 14 and 19 years old has been halved from 10 years ago, the NPA said.

Absenteeism on rise

The number of long-term truants in Japan's elementary and junior high schools totaled 126,764 in the 2006 school year, which ended on March 31, up 3.7 percent from the previous year for the first year-on-year increase in five years, the education ministry said in a preliminary report Thursday.

Long-term truants are defined as those who are absent for 30 days or more due to reasons other than illness or economic difficulties.

Of the total, 102,940 were junior high school students, accounting for one of every 35, or 2.9 percent, junior high school students, the report showed.

The number of truant elementary school students came to 23,824, up by about 1,000, or 4.4 percent, from the previous year and accounting for 0.3 percent of all elementary school students, the report says.

The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry conducted the annual survey on all schools in Japan, from kindergarten to university, as of May 1 to collect basic education data.

In a multiple-answer question on the reasons for skipping school, bullying was cited by 4,688 students, or 3.2 percent of the total. Bullying was added to a list of reasons for the first time in the reporting year.

The Japan Times
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No. of child abuse cases reaches record high

Japan Today
Friday, August 10, 2007 at 07:13 EDT
Source: http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/414771

TOKYO — The number of child abuse cases detected by the police reached 149 in the January-June period, up 24.2% from a year earlier and the largest number since equivalent data became available in 2000, the National Police Agency said Thursday.

In cases involving victims younger than 18 years old, 113 cases involved physical abuse and 27 involved sexual abuse. Of the 164 alleged offenders in these cases, 48 were the biological mothers of the victims and 45 were the biological fathers of the victims, according to the NPA. Eighteen children died as a result of abuse during the reporting period, compared with 28 the year before. NPA officials said they expect the number of fatal cases to decrease as police officers are now required to inspect households where child abuse is suspected.

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