(1)Classification of offenses
  The survey classifies the damage caused by crime into"household damage"and"individual damage. "
  "Household damage"refers to damage at the level of the household. For the purpose of the survey, the questions regarding household damage were posed in the following manner:"Have you or your household been victimized by the offense of. .. ?"The questions covered car theft, theft from cars, vandalism to cars, motorcycle theft, bicycle theft, burglary and attempted burglary.   "Individual damage"refers to damage at the level of the individual, and related questions were posed in the following manner:"Have you yourself been victimized by the offense of. .. ?"The questions covered robbery, larceny, sexual assault and assaults/threats.
(2)Household damage
a. Car theft
  Questions on car theft were asked of households that owned a passenger car, van or truck(collectively referred to as"personal cars"for the purpose of this Section)in the last five years.1,907of the households owned personal cars in the last five years, of which0.7%(13households)had their cars stolen in the same period.0.2%(3households)experienced car theft in1999.
  Additional questions on the latest theft were asked of the households that had suffered from car theft in the last five years. The result indicates that53.8%of these households had their cars stolen at home or near the home. The report rate(meaning, for the purpose of this Section, the ratio of these households who reported the incident to the police)stood at61.5%.
b. Theft from cars
  For the purpose of the survey, theft from cars is defined as the theft of belongings left in personal cars, or parts of personal cars. Questions related to this were asked of households that owned personal cars in the last five years.5.7%of the households(108households)experienced theft from cars in the last five years and1.6%(31households)suffered from such theft in1999.6.5%of the31households(2households)experienced theft more than once in1999.
  Questions on the latest incident were asked of the households that had experienced theft from cars over the past five years. The result indicates that55.6%of the cases occurred at home or near the home. The report rate stood at41.7%.58.6%of the households that did not report the theft answered that they considered the damage immaterial or negligible. (Multiple answers were permitted in this sort of question. ) c. Vandalism to cars
  For the purpose of this survey, damage caused by vandalism to cars is defined as damage to personal cars(other than damage due to traffic accidents). Questions related to this were asked of households that owned personal cars in the last five years.16.8%of the households(321households)suffered from vandalism to cars in the last five years, and4.8%(92households)experienced the offense in1999.23.9%of the92households(22households)suffered from the offense more than once in1999.   Questions on the latest incident were asked of the households that had suffered from vandalism to cars over the past five years. The result indicates that51.7%of the cases occurred at home or near the home. The report rate stood at20.9%.
d. Motorcycle theft
  Questions on motorcycle theft were asked of families that owned any motorized two-wheel vehicle, scooter or motorcycle(collectively referred to as"motorcycles"for the purpose of this Section)over the past five years.712of the households owned motorcycles over the past five years, of which12.4%(88households)suffered from motorcycle theft in the five-year period and2.8%(20households)experienced such theft in1999.
  Questions on the latest incident were asked of the households that had experienced motorcycle theft over the past five years. The result indicates that59.1%of the cases occurred at home or near the home. The report rate stood at72.7%.
e. Bicycle theft
  Questions on bicycle theft were asked of households that owned any bicycles over the past five years.1,788of the households owned bicycles over the past five years, of which27.3%(488households)suffered from bicycle theft in the same period, and7.9%(141households)experienced such theft in1999.19.1%of the141households(27households)suffered from theft more than once in1999.
  Questions on the latest incident were asked of the households that had experienced bicycle theft over the past five years. The result indicates that49.8%of the incidents occurred at home or near the home. The report rate stood at36.1% f. Burglary
  For the purpose of this survey, an affirmative answer to the following question was considered to indicate damage due to burglary:"Has anyone entered your house or apartment without permission and stolen or tried to steal something?"According to this criterion,4.1%of the households surveyed(90households)suffered from burglary over the past five years while1.2%(27households)experienced burglary in1999.29.6%of the27households(8households)suffered from burglary more than once in1999.
  Questions on the latest incident were asked of the households that had experienced burglary over the past five years. The result indicates that68.9%of the households suffered actual theft of belongings. The average value of stolen articles amounted to some¥130,000.16.7%of the households suffered additional property damage such as the destruction of household effects. The report rate stood at61.1%.72.7%of the reporting households did so because they wanted the police to arrest and punish the offender,65.5%wanted to stop it from happening again, and58.2%thought that a criminal incident should be reported or that the incident was serious. On the other hand, the majority(51.6%)of non-reporting households answered that they considered the damage to be immaterial or negligible.
g. Attempted burglary
  Apart from burglary, as described above, the survey considered an affirmative answer to the following question to indicate damage due to attempted burglary:"Have you noticed any sign that someone has attempted to break into your house or apartment, such as broken locks, doors or windows, or scratches around the lock?"According to this criterion,2.6%of the households(58households)fell victim to attempted burglary over the past five years and0.8%(17households)experienced such attempts in1999.41.2%of the17households(7households)experienced attempted burglary more than once in1999.
  36.2%of the households that had suffered from attempted burglary over the past five years reported the latest incident to the police.
(3)Individual damage
a. Robbery
  For the purpose of this survey, an affirmative answer to the following question was considered to indicate damage due to robbery:"Have you been robbed of something by someone using violence or intimidation?Or have you been nearly robbed of something by someone using violence or intimidation?"According to this criterion,0.6%of the individuals surveyed(13persons)suffered from robbery over the past five years and0.0%(1person)experienced robbery in1999.
  Questions on the latest incident were asked of those who had suffered damage due to robbery over the past five years. The result indicates that53.8%of them were actually robbed of something, and that the incident most often involved3or more offenders(38.5%of the responses). As for the relationship with the offenders,38.5%of the victims neither recognized the offenders'faces nor knew their names. The report rate stood at30.8%. Concerning the reasons for reporting the incident to the police,50.0%of the victims who did so cited each of the following:because they wanted to recover lost property, because they wanted the police to arrest and punish the offender, because they wanted to stop it from happening again, and because they thought that a criminal incident should be reported or that the incident was serious. On the other hand, most of the non-reporting victims(83.3%)thought that the damage was immaterial or negligible.
b. Larceny
  The survey asked the following question:"Unlike robbery, which involves violence, larceny takes various forms of theft of personal property, including pickpocketing and the theft of wallets, clothes, jewelry or sports equipment. Such incidents may happen in workplaces, schools, restaurants or public transport facilities, on beaches or in the street. Aside from the damage at home mentioned above, have you yourself been a victim of such theft over the past five years?"An affirmative answer to the question was construed as an indication of damage due to larceny. Thus, damage due to larceny is defined as damage due to non-intrusive theft other than the above-mentioned household damage due to car theft, etc. According to this definition,2.7%of the individuals surveyed(60persons)were victimized by larceny in the last five years and0.5%(10persons)suffered from the offense in1999.
  43.3%of the individuals who had suffered damage due to larceny over the past five years reported the latest incident to the police.
c. Sexual assault
  The survey asked the following question:"A person may often grab, touch or commit acts of violence against others for sexual reasons in a really offensive way. Such acts may happen at home or in other places, including restaurants, streets, schools, public transport facilities, cinemas, beaches and workplaces. Have you been a victim of such acts over the past five years?Please think carefully, including the possibility of domestic sexual assault. "Thus, any experience of sexual violence including so-called"groping"and sexual harassment was construed as damage due to sexual assault. This question was asked of women only. The result indicates that2.7%of the female respondents(31persons)suffered from sexual assault in the last five years and1.0%(11%)experienced the offense in1999.54.5%of the11women(6persons)were victimized more than once in1999.
  Questions on the latest incident were asked of the women who had suffered from sexual assault over the past five years. The result indicates that the incident occurred most often in their local areas(29.0%), near the home(22.6%), in other places in Japan(22.6%), and in the workplace(19.4%), in that order. Two or more offenders were involved in16.1%of the cases. As for the relationship with the offenders, the victims either recognized the offenders'faces or knew their names in22.6%of the cases, of which42.9%involved co-workers. The following additional question was asked regarding the type of offense:"Is the incident considered to be rape(forced sex), attempted rape, indecent assault or an act that you find offensive("groping", sexual harassment, etc. )?"The result indicates that attempted rape represented3.2%of the cases, indecent assault6.5%, and offensive acts("groping", sexual harassment, etc. )83.9%.71.0%answered yes to the question:"Do you regard the incident as a crime?"
  The report rate for the latest incident stood at9.7%. All of the victims who reported the incident did so because they wanted the police to arrest and punish the offender. On the other hand,37.0%of the non-reporting victims considered the damage to be immaterial or negligible,22.2%thought that the police could do nothing or that there was no evidence, and14.8%did not dare to report the incident(for fear of retaliation).
d. Assaults and Threats
  The survey asked the following question:"Have you really felt threatened by any assaults and threats at home or in other places such as the street, schools, public transport facilities, beaches, workplaces, etc. , including domestic violence?"Including sexual assault on men, any such experience was, for the purpose of the survey, construed as damage due to assaults and threats.2.1%of the respondents(47persons)suffered from assaults and threats over the past five years, and0.4%(9persons)experienced the offense in1999. Of the9persons,22.2%(2persons)were victimized more than once in1999.
  Questions on the latest incident were asked of those who had suffered from assaults and threats over the past five years. The result indicates that the incident occurred most often at home(27.7%), near the home(19.1%)and in workplaces(14.9%)in that order. Two or more offenders were involved in25.5%of the cases. As for the relationship with the offender,10.6%of the victims recognized the offenders'faces, while25.5%knew their names. Of the offenders whose names were known, household members including the spouse accounted for33.3%.46.8%of the victims answered yes to the question:"Do you regard the incident as a crime?"
  The following question was asked on the type of offense:"Could you tell us what happened?Were you only intimidated or assaulted?"The result indicates that55.3%of the victims were only intimidated but21.3%were assaulted.8.3%of those who were intimidated or assaulted replied that the offender was armed with a weapon.50.0%of those assaulted were actually injured in the incident.
  The report rate for the latest incident stood at21.3%. Those who wanted to stop it from happening again and those who wanted to seek help account for50.0%of the reporting victims, respectively. On the other hand,32.1%of the non-reporting victims did not report the incident to the police because they considered the damage to be immaterial or negligible, while25.0%thought that the police could do nothing about it or that there was no evidence.
(4)Victimization rate by offense
  Fig. V-1 shows the ratio of those who suffered household damage or individual damage at least once(victimization rate)in the last five years and in1999,by category of offense.
  As regards household damage, the rate is highest for bicycle theft both in the last five years and in1999,followed by vandalism to cars and motorcycle theft. In the last five years,1in4households with bicycles suffered from bicycle theft,1in8households with motorcycles experienced motorcycle theft, and1in25households was victimized by burglary.

Fig. V-1 Victimization Rate in Last5Years and in1999,by Offense

  As regards individual damage, the victimization rate is relatively low in general, although the rate is somewhat higher for sexual assault than for larceny and assaults and threats. Thus, less than1in100persons was victimized by any of the offenses in1999. The rate is highest for larceny and sexual assault over the last five years, but only about1in37persons were victimized by each of these two offenses in the same period.
(5)Report rate
  Fig. V-2 shows the report rate for the latest incident of household and individual damage, by offense. The data cover households and individuals victimized in the last five years.
  In general, household damage is more frequently reported than individual damage. In particular, the report rate exceeds60%for motorcycle theft and burglary. Thus, more than1in3households that suffered household damage due to offenses other than vandalism to cars reported the latest incident to the police.
  As regards individual damage, the report rate does not reach50%even for larceny incidents, which are reported most frequently. The rate is less than10%for sexual assault. Thus, less than1in3persons who suffered individual damage due to offenses other than larceny reported the latest incident to the police.

Fig. V-2 Report Rate by Offense

(6)Crime-related anxiety and crime prevention
  The survey asked questions about the following issues to clarify the general perception of crime-related anxiety and crime prevention activities by the police.
a. Anxiety when walking alone at night
  The survey asked the following question on security when walking alone after dark in one's own residential area:"How safe do you feel when walking alone after dark in your own residential area?"The result indicates that12.4%of the respondents feel very safe,65.2%feel fairly safe,19.9%slightly unsafe and2.5%very unsafe.
b. Anxiety when at home alone at night
  The survey asked the following question on security when at home alone after dark:"How safe do you feel when you are at home alone after dark?"The result indicates that23.9%of the respondents feel very safe,67.3%fairly safe,8.1%slightly unsafe and0.7%very unsafe.
c. Fear of burglary
  The survey asked the following question on the fear of burglary when at home:"Please consider the probability of someone trying to break into your house within the coming12months. Is it highly probable, probable, or improbable?"1.9%of the respondents answered"highly probable",32.0%"probable, "and52.8%"improbable. "