White paper on crime 2010 Part5/Chapter2
In recent years the issue of crime victims has aroused a certain level of social concern, and hence the criminal justice agencies, etc. have been promoting various measures in support of them. The Basic Act on Crime Victims (Act No. 161 of 2004), which was established to promote comprehensive and systematic policies for use with crime victims, has been in force since April 2005. In December 2005 the Basic Plan for Crime Victims, etc., which includes 258 specific measures under four basic policies and five prior tasks, was formulated in accordance with the said act to realize a society in which the rights and interests of crime victims, etc. can be better protected (the term of the Plan is until the end of FY 2010), thus demonstrating that the concerns for crime victims are now one of the most important considerations in criminal policy.