Table V-2 show the number of persons who were killed or injured by penal code offenses recognized by the police, as well as the crime rate for each type of damage, in the10-year period from1990. Following a downtrend, the number of persons killed turned up in1997and increased by70(5.5%)from the previous year in1998,only to decrease by16(1.2%)in1999.
  Persons seriously or slightly injured have both stayed on a par since 1991,except in1995,when many people were injured in the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway. The numbers, however, have been increasing since 1997(see Appendix V-1 for the number of persons killed or injured, by offense).

Table V-2 Number of Crime Victims Killed or Injured, and Crime Rate(1990-1999)

  The above-mentioned Sarin gas attack, a terrorist incident, was perpetrated on Tokyo subway trains on March20,1995. In the incident,11people were killed(including passengers)and a large number of people were injured. In connection with the incident, followers of the Aum Shinrikyo cult have been indicted for homicide, etc. (see Part2,Section3-7for hearings and sentences in trials concerning the series of incidents involving Aum followers).