I. Definition of Offenses and Terms 1. Definition of offenses
(1) Unless mentioned otherwise, the term "penal code offense" means an offense prescribed by the Penal Code (Law No. 45 of 1907) and the following special laws.
(i) Explosives Control Law (Cabinet Order No. 32 of 1884);
(ii) Law Relating to Duels (Law No. 34 of 1889);
(iii) Law Concerning the Punishment of Revenue Stamp Crimes (Law No. 39 of 1909);
(iv) Law Concerning the Punishment of Physical Violence and Others (Law No. 60 of 1926);
(v) Law Concerning the Prevention and Punishment of Burglary, Robbery, Larceny, etc. (Law No. 9 of 1930);
(vi) Law Concerning the Punishment of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft (Law No. 68 of 1970);
(vii) Law Concerning the Punishment of Crimes Relating to Environmental Pollution Which Adversely Affects the Health of Persons (Law No. 142 of 1970);
(viii) Law Concerning the Punishment of Acts Causing Aviational Danger (Law No. 87 of 1974);
(ix) Law Concerning the Punishment of Coercion and Other Related Acts Committed by Those Having Taken Hostages (Law No. 48 of 1978); and
(x) Law For Punishment of Organized Crime, Control of Crime Proceeds and Other Matters (Law No. 136 of 1999).
(2) The term "special law offense" means an offense against penal provisions other than the laws given above.
(3) The term "professional negligence" means professional or gross negligence resulting in death or bodily injury.
(4) The term "professional negligence in traffic accidents" means professional or gross negligence resulting in death or bodily injury by traffic accident.
(5) The term "road traffic violation" means violation of the Road Traffic Law (Law No. 105 of 1960) or the Law on Securing Vehicle Parking Spaces (Law No. 145 of 1962).
(6) The term "violations of traffic-related laws" means violation of the Road Trucking Vehicle Law (Law No. 185 of 1951), violation of the Automobile Liability Insurance Law (Law No. 97 of 1955) and road traffic violation.
(7) The basic categories of penal code offenses enumerated in (1) above include the following types of offense variations, unless specified otherwise.
(i) attempt;
(ii) preparation;
(iii) instigation and assistance;
(iv) offenses aggravated by results of a crime including robbery resulting in death or bodily injury;
(v) aggravated or mitigated forms of offenses prescribed in the Penal Code other than professional negligence; and
(vi) aggravated forms of offenses prescribed in the Law Concerning the Prevention and Punishment of Burglary, Robbery, Larceny, etc.
(8) The following penal code offense categories include the specific offenses in parentheses.
(i) homicide (involvement in suicide and consented homicide);
(ii) robbery (homicide or rape on the occasion of robbery);
(iii) robbery resulting in death (homicide on the occasion of robbery)
(iv) bodily injury (encouragement of bodily injury);
(v) intimidation (coercion);
(vi) obstruction of performance of official duties (destruction of seals, etc.); and
(vii) forgery and counterfeiting (forgery of various documents, making a false entry in an officially authenticated instrument, etc., and the uttering of these forged documents).
(9) "Misappropriation of lost property" falls under the category of "embezzlement" in the Japanese Penal Code, and unless mentioned otherwise, figures and data on "embezzlement" include those on "misappropriation of lost property" in this White Paper.
[Note]
Where the data source is the Criminal Statistics by National Police Agency:
(1) The term "penal code offenses" excludes violations of the Law for the Punishment of Revenue Stamp Crimes and the Law for the Punishment of Crimes Relating to Environmental Pollution Which Adversely Affects the Health of Persons, and includes the violations of the Law Punishing the Use of Molotov Cocktail (Law No. 17 of 1972), the Special Measures Law Concerning Prevention of Mixing Toxic Substances into Distributed Foods (Law No. 103 of 1987), the Law Concerning Prevention of Physical Injury by the Use of Sarin etc. (Law No. 78 of 1995), and the Law Punishing a Person in Public Office who Gains Profits by the Good Offices (Law No. 130 of 2000).
(2) The terms "assault", "bodily injury", "intimidation", and "destruction of objects" include offenses provided in Article 1, Article 1-2 and Article 1-3 of the Law Concerning the Punishment of Physical Violence and Others.
2. Definition of terms
(1) "Number of reported cases" refers to the number of cases in which the occurrence of offenses is reported to the police, etc. based on incident reports, complaints, charges and other causes.
(2) "Number of cleared cases" refers to the number of cases that are cleared by the police, etc., which includes that of the cases referred to public prosecutors or disposed as minor offenses by the police, etc.
(3) "Number of persons cleared" refers to the number of suspects in the cases cleared by the police, etc.
(4) "Number of referred cases" refers to the number of cases referred by the police, etc.
(5) "Number of persons referred" refers to the number of suspects in the cases referred by the police, etc.
(6) "Clearance rate" refers to the percentage obtained from the following formula: cleared cases / reported cases × 100.
(7) "Prosecution rate" refers to the percentage obtained from the following formula: number of suspects prosecuted/(number of suspects prosecuted + number of suspects not prosecuted) × 100.
(8) "Suspended prosecution rate" refers to the percentage obtained from the following formula: number of suspects granted suspension of prosecution/(number of suspects prosecuted + number of suspects granted suspension of prosecution) × 100.
(9) "Suspended execution rate" refers to the percentage obtained from the following formula: number of offenders granted suspension of execution of sentence/number of offenders sentenced to imprisonment with or without labor for a limited term × 100.
(10) Juvenile
(i) The term "junior juvenile" refers to a person 14 years of age or over but under 16 years of age.
(ii) The term "intermediate juvenile" refers to a person 16 years of age or over but under 18 years of age.
(iii) The term "senior juvenile" refers to a person 18 years of age or over but under 20 years of age.
(11) The term "final disposal" refers to the disposal of a case other than transfer between Public Prosecutors Offices or suspension of investigation, and transfer or reference between courts.
(12) "Commitment to a Home for Juvenile Training and Education or a Home for Dependent Children" as a final disposal by a family court includes commitment to a reform school for juvenile delinquents or a residential care institution for children, which was practiced until March 31, 1998.
(13) The term "percent distribution" refers to percentage, unless specified otherwise.
3. Abbreviation of special laws
The following abbreviations are used in this paper for the main Japanese special laws. In Figures and Tables, the term "violation" is omitted for special law offenses except in titles and notes.
[Abbreviation] [Law] Law Punishing a Person who Gains Profits by the Good Offices Law Punishing a Person in Public Office who Gains Profits by the Good Offices (Law No. 130 of 2000)
Foreign Exchange Law Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade control Law (Law No. 228 of 1949)
Alien Registration Law Alien Registration Law (Law No. 125 of 1952)
Marine Pollution Prevention Law Law Relating to the Prevention of Marine Pollution and Maritime Disaster (Law No. 136 of 1970)
Loan Business Control Law Loan Business Control Law (Law No. 32 of 1983)
Pollution Crime Law Law for the Punishment of Crimes Relating to Environmental Pollution Which Adversely Affects the Health of Persons (Law No. 142 of 1970)
Law against Child Prostitutuion and Pornography Law for Punishing Acts Related to Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, and for Protectiong Children (Law No. 52 of 1999)
Firearms and Swords Control Law Law to Control the Possession of Firearms and Swords (Law No. 6 of 1958)(including the Cabinet Order to Control the Possession of Firearms and Swords (Cabinet Order No. 334 of 1950))
Investment Law Law Concerning Regulation, etc. of Receiving of Capital Subscription, Deposits and Interest on Deposits, etc. (Law No. 195 of 1954)
Anti-organized Crime Law Law for Punishment of Organized Crime, Control of Crime Proceeds and Other Matters (Law No. 136 of 1999)
Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Law Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Law (Law No. 303 of 1950)
Immigration Control Law Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law (Cabinet Order No. 319 of 1951)
Wastes Disposal Law Wastes Disposal and Public Cleaning Law (Law No. 137 of 1970)
Adult Entertainment Law Law Regulating Adult Entertainment Businesses, etc. (Law No. 122 of 1948)
Unauthorized Computer Access Law Law Concerning Prohibition of Illegally Accessing Acts (Law No. 128 of 1999)
Door-to-Door Sales Law Law Concerning Door-to-Door Sales, etc. (Law No. 57 of 1976)
Physical Violence Law Law Concerning the Punishment of Physical Violence and Others (Law No. 60 of 1926)
Vehicle Parking Spaces Law Law on Securing Vehicle Parking Spaces (Law No. 145 of 1962)
Narcotics Provision Law Law Concerning Special Provisions for the Law to Control Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances, etc. and Other Matters for the Prevention of Activities Encouraging Illicit Conducts and Other Activities Involving Controlled Substances Through International Cooperation (Law No. 94 of 1991)
Narcotics Control Law Law to Control Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances (Law No. 14 of 1953)
Public Drunkenness Prevention Law Law for the Prevention of the Act of Causing Public Nuisance by Drunkenness, etc. (Law No. 103 of 1961)
Worker Dispatch Law Law for the Proper Operation of Workder Dispatch Business and the Improvement of Working Conditions of Dispatched Workers, etc. (Law No. 88 of 1985)
4. Abbreviation of country names
The following abbreviations are used in the text as well as in Figures and Tables.
[Region] [Abbreviation] [Official name] Asia Bangladesh People's Republic of Bangladesh
China People's Republic of Chine
India India
Indonesia Republic of Indonesia
Iran Islamic Republic of Iran
Japan Japan
South Korea Republic of Korea
North Korea Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Malaysia Malaysia
Pakistan Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Philippines Republic of the Philippines
Singapore Republic of Singapore
Sri Lanka Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Thailand Kingdom of Thailand
Vietnam Socialist Republic of Viet Num
Oceania Australia Commonwealth of Australia
Africa Nigeria Federal Republic of Nigeria
Europe Belgium Kingdom of Belgium
France French Republic
Germany Federal Republic of Germany
U.K. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Russia Russian Federation
North America Canada Canada
Panama Republic of Panama
U.S.A. United States of America
South America Brazil Federative Republic of Brazil
Colombia Republic of Colombia
Peru Republic of Peru
[Notes]
(1) The order of names countries is in accordance with the Statistical Yearbook issued by the United Nations.
(2) Abbreviations of names of countries are based on the "Table of Country Names" compiled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
(3) Japan has not recognized North Korea.
II. Data Sources 1. Type of statistical materials
Statistics, figures, tables and other calculated data are primarily provided by the Criminal Affairs, Correction, Rehabilitation, Human Rights and Immigration Bureaus of the Ministry of Justice. Data are also obtained from various research and surveys conducted by relevant agencies as well as from the following official statistics.
- Criminal Statistics by National Police Agency
(Criminal Investigation Bureau, National Police Agency)
- Annual Report of Statistics on Prosecution
(Judicial System Department, Minister's Secretariat, Ministry of Justice)
- Annual Report of Judicial Statistics
(General Secretariat of the Supreme Court)
- Annual Report of Statistics on Correction
(Judicial System Department, Minister's Secretariat, Ministry of Justice)
- Annual Report of Statistics on Rehabilitation
(Judicial System Department, Minister's Secretariat, Ministry of Justice)
- Annual Report of Statistics on Immigration Control
(Judicial System Department, Minister's Secretariat, Ministry of Justice)
[Notes]
(1) Criminal Statistics by National Police Agency were entitled "Criminal Statistics" until 1963 and renamed "Crime in 19xx (various years)" in 1964. For the purpose of this paper, both of them are referred to as "Criminal Statistics by National Police Agency."
(2) Statistical data up to 1972 do not cover the cases in Okinawa Prefecture that occurred on May 14, 1972 or earlier.
(3) All data sources are indicated using the names of ministries and agencies after the reorganization of central government ministries and agencies in January 2001.
2. Coverage of statistical materials
In principle, statistical materials cover the period up to 2002 and include available data as of July 2003.
The statistics for 2002 that were not officially available at the time of writing this paper are substituted with data obtained from the agencies concerned. The data thus obtained are provisional in nature and may differ from the corresponding data in official statistics to be published subsequently. In such cases, corrections will be made as appropriate in the White Paper on Crime for the coming years. In addition, corrections will also be made as appropriate in the White Paper on Crime in the case that figures in official statistics are changed.
III. Presentation of Figures and Tables 1. Numbering of Figures and Tables
The numbering of Figures and Tables is renewed for each Section and indicates the Part, Chapter, Section, and Figure or Table Number, in that order. (For example, Fig. 2-4-2-3 indicates the third figure of Section 2 of Chapter 4 in Part 2.)
2. Calculation method
The percent distribution, indices, etc., in statistical Figures and Tables represent rounded values. Therefore, the figures for percent distribution do not necessarily add up to 100.0.
3. Presentation of values, etc.
(1) Numerical values, etc., in Tables are presented as follows:
(i) -: zero in number or not applicable, or zero in percentage or percentage for the number not applicable.
(ii) 0: number that does not reach 1 when rounded.
(iii) 0.0: percent distribution that does not reach 0.1 when rounded.
(iv) ...: data/statistical materials not available, or when the parameter is 0.
(v) Δ: decrease or decline in numerical value in comparison with that of the previous year, etc.
(2) Numerical values in Figures are presented as follows:
(i) 0: zero in number or not applicable.
(ii) 0.0: percent distribution that does not reach 0.1 when rounded.
IV. The period from 1989 to the present is called the Heisei period. The period from 1926 to 1988 is called the Showa period.