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NOTES
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 (Act No. 45 of 1907) and the following special acts.
(i) Explosives Control Act (Cabinet Order No. 32 of 1884);
(ii) Act Relating to Duels (Act No. 34 of 1889);
(iii) Act on Punishment of Crimes Related to Stamps (Act No. 39 of 1909);
(iv) Act on Punishment of Physical Violence and Others (Act No. 60 of 1926);
(v) Act on Prevention and Punishment of Robbery and Theft, etc. (Act No. 9 of 1930);
(vi) Act on Punishment of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft (Act No. 68 of 1970);
(vii) Act on Punishment of Crimes to Cause Pollution Harmful for Human Health (Act No. 142 of 1970);
(vii) Act on Punishment of Acts to Endanger Aviation (Act No. 87 of 1974);
(ix) Act on Punishment of Compulsion and Other Related Acts Committed by Those Having Taken Hostages (Act No. 48 of 1978); and
(x) Act on Punishment of Organized Crimes and Control of Crime Proceeds (Act No. 136 of 1999).
(2) The term “negligence in vehicle driving /negligence in the pursuit of social activities” means causing death or injury through negligence in vehicle driving, negligence in the pursuit of social activities, or gross negligence.
(3) The term “negligence in vehicle driving, etc.” means negligence in vehicle driving/negligence in the pursuit of social activities in traffic accidents.
(4) Up to 2006 the term “negligence in the pursuit of social activities” means causing death or injury through negligence in the pursuit of social activities or gross negligence. Similarly up to 2006 the term “negligence in the pursuit of social activities in traffic accidents” means causing death or injury through negligence in the pursuit of social activities in traffic accidents.
(5) The term “non-traffic penal code offense” means penal code offenses excluding negligence in vehicle driving, etc. However, in Part 3 (excluding Chapter 1, Section 3), Part 5, Part7, Chapter 2, Section 6 and Chapter 4, Section 3 of the same Part, it further excludes dangerous driving causing death or injury in traffic accidents, unless mentioned otherwise.
(6) The term “special act offense” means an offense against penal provisions other than the acts listed in (1).
(7) The term “violations of road traffic related acts” mean violations of the following acts.
(i) Road Traffic Act (Act No. 105 of 1960); and
(ii) Act on Assurance of Car Parking Spaces and Other Matters (Act No. 145 of 1962).
(8) The term “violations of four statute traffic related acts” means “violations of road traffic related acts” and violations of the following acts.
(i) Road Transport Vehicle Act (Act No. 185 of 1951); and
(ii) Automobile Liability Security Act (Act No. 97 of 1955).
(9) The term “violations of traffic acts including four statute traffic related acts” means “violations of four statute traffic related acts” and offenses prescribed by the following acts.
(i) Road Transportation Act (Act No. 183 of 1951)
(ii) Road Act (Act No. 180 of 1952)
(iii) National Highway Act (Act No. 79 of 1957)
(iv) Parking Lot Act (Act No. 106 of 1957)
(v) Act on Special Measures concerning Prevention of Traffic Accident Caused by Large-Sized Automobiles Carrying Earth, Sand and Others (Act No. 131 of 1967)
(vi) Act on Special Measures concerning Regulation of Taxi Services (Act No. 75 of 1970)
(vii) Cargo Forwarder Service Act (Act No. 82 of 1989)
(vii) Act on Service of Cargo Transportation by Automobiles (Act No. 83 of 1989)
(ix) Studded Tires Regulation Act (Act No. 55 of 1990); and
(x) Act on Regulation of Substitute Driving Service (Act No. 57 of 2001).
(10) The basic categories of penal code offenses include the following types of offense variations, unless specified otherwise.
(i) attempt;
(ii) preparation;
(iii) inducement and accessoryship;
(iv) offences aggravated by results of an offense including robbery causing death or injury;
(v) forms of offenses aggravated or reduced based on professions, purposes, or titles, prescribed in the Penal Code other than negligence in vehicle driving/negligence in the pursuit of social activities; and
(vi) aggravated offenses prescribed in the Act on Prevention and Punishment of Robbery and Theft
(11) The following penal code offense categories include the offenses contained in the parentheses.
(i) homicide (inducing or aiding suicide and homicide with consent);
(ii) robbery (homicide or rape at the scene of a robbery);
(iii) robbery causing death (homicide at the scene of a robbery);
(iv) injury (incitement of injury);
(v) intimidation (compulsion);
(vi) obstructing performance of public duty (destruction of seals, etc.); and
(vii) counterfeit (counterfeit of documents, etc., false entries in the original of notarized deeds, etc., and the uttering of these documents).
[Notes]
Where the data source is the Crime Statistics by National Police Agency:
(1) The term “penal code offenses” excludes violations of
(i) Act on Punishment of Crimes Related to Stamps; and
(ii) Act on Punishment of Crimes to Cause Pollution Harmful for Human Health,
but includes violations of
(i) Act on Punishment of Use and Others of Molotov Cocktails (Act No. 17 of 1972)
(ii) Act on Special Measures concerning Prevention of Toxic Contamination of Food Distributed Through Marketing Channels (Act No. 103 of 1987)
(iii) Act on Prevention of Bodily Harm by Sarin and Similar Substances (Act No. 78 of 1995)
(iv) Act on Punishment of Public Officials' Profiting by Exerting Influence (Act No.130 of 2000); and
(v) Act on Punishment of the Financing of Criminal Activities for the Purpose of Intimidation of the General Public and of Governments (Act No. 67 of 2002).
(2) The term “assault” and “intimidation” include aggravated offenses provided in Article 1 and Article 1–3 of the Act on the Punishment of Physical Violence and Others, and the term “injury” includes aggravated offenses thereof provided in Article 1–2 and Article 1–3 of the relevant act.
(3) The term “damage to property” includes concealment of letters and aggravated offenses thereof provided in Article 1 and Article 1–3 of the Act on Punishment of Physical Violence and Others.
(4) The term “negligence in vehicle driving, etc.” includes negligence causing death or injury related to traffic accidents on the roads.
(5) The term “special act offense” includes violations of
(i) Act on Punishment of Crimes Related to Stamps; and
(ii) Act on Punishment of Crimes to Cause Pollution Harmful for Human Health,
but excludes violations of
(i) Act on Punishment of Use and Others of Molotov Cocktails
(ii) Act for Special Measures concerning Prevention of Toxic Contamination of Food Distributed through Marketing Channels
(iii) Act on Prevention of Bodily Harm by Sarin and Similar Substances
(iv) Act on Punishment of Public Officials' Profiting by Exerting Influence; and
(v) Act on the Punishment of Financing of Criminal Activities for the Purpose of Intimidation of the General Public and of Governments.
Where the data source is the Annual Report of Judicial Statistics:
(6) The term “penal code offenses” excludes violations of
(i) Act on Punishment of Crimes Related to Stamps
(ii) Act on Punishment of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft
(iii) Act on Punishment of Crime to Cause Pollution Harmful for Human Health
(iv) Act on Punishment of Acts to Endanger Aviation
(v) Act on Punishment of Compulsion and Other Related Acts Committed by Those Having Taken Hostages; and
(vi) Act on Punishment of Organized Crimes and Control of Crime Proceeds.
The term “special act offense” includes violations of these acts.
2. Definition of terms
(1) “Number of reported cases” refers to the number of cases whose occurrence came to be known to the police or other investigative authorities through incident reports, complaints, charges or other causes.
(2) “Crime rate” means the number of reported cases per 100,000 persons.
(3) “Number of cleared cases” refers to the number of cases that are cleared. The number includes cases disposed by police as trivial offenses etc. in addition to those cases referred to public prosecutors.
(4) “Number of persons cleared” refers to the number of offenders cleared by police or other investigative authorities.
(5) “Number of referred cases” refers to the number of cases referred to prosecutors by the police and other investigative authorities.
(6) “Number of persons referred” means the number of offenders referred to prosecutors by the police and other investigative authorities.
(7) “Clearance rate” refers to the percentage of the number of cleared cases per the number of reported cases. Since “cleared cases” sometimes includes cases reported previous to the year before, the “clearance rate” sometimes exceeds 100%.
(8) “Number of persons newly received by public prosecutors offices” refers to the number of offenders received by public prosecutors directly or through judicial police officers (including special judicial police officers and inspectors of the National Tax Agency).
(9) “Prosecution rate” refers to the percentage of the number of offenders prosecuted per the sum of the number of offenders prosecuted and not prosecuted.
(10) “Suspended prosecution rate” refers to the percentage of the number of offenders granted suspension of prosecution per the sum of the number of offenders prosecuted and granted suspension of prosecution.
(11) “Court of first instance” refers to ordinary public trial procedures at the courts of first instance.
(12) The term “final disposition”, in prosecutorial context, refers to the disposition of a case by prosecutors, except transfer between Public Prosecutors Offices or suspension of investigation. In court procedural context, it refers to the disposition of a case by courts, except transfer or reference between courts (in Part 4, cases that went through joint hearing and are not included into finished cases as well).
(13) “Suspended execution rate” refers to the percentage of the number of offenders granted suspension of execution of sentence per the number of offenders sentenced to imprisonment with or without work for a limited term.
(14) “Visiting foreign nationals” refer to foreign nationals staying in Japan other than permanent residents, special permanent residents, those connected with U.S. forces based in Japan, and those with unclear status of residence. Where the data source is Crime Statistics by the National Police Agency or the Criminal Investigation Bureau, the term refers to foreign nationals staying in Japan other than established residents (permanent residents, etc.), those connected with U.S. forces based in Japan, and those with unclear permanent residency status.
(15) “Female rate” refers to the rate of females to the total of males and females.
(16) “Juvenile rate” refers to the rate of juveniles (under 20 years of age) to the total of juveniles and adults.
(17) Juvenile
(i) The term “junior juvenile” refers to a person 14 years of age and over but under 16 years of age;
(ii) The term “intermediate juvenile” refers to a person 16 years of age and over but under 18 years of age;
(iii) The term “senior juvenile” refers to a person 18 years of age and over but under 20 years of age.
(18) “Elder” and “elderly” refers to a person 65 years of age and over, unless specified otherwise.
(19) The term “commitment to the children's self-reliance support facility or commitment to foster home” refers to a final disposition to juvenile by family courts. The reference to the term in the context prior to March 31, 1998 includes commitment to reform schools for juvenile delinquents and to residential care institutions for children.
(20) The terms “percent ratio” and “ratio” refer to percentage, unless specified otherwise.
3. Abbreviation of special acts
The following abbreviations are used in this paper for the main Japanese special acts. In figures and tables, the term “violation” is omitted for special act offenses except in titles and notes.
[Abbreviation] [Act]
Foreign Exchange Act …… Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act (Act No. 228 of 1949)
Alien Registration Act …… Alien Registration Act (Act No. 125 of 1952)
Marine Pollution Prevention Act …… Act on Prevention of Marine Pollution and Maritime Disaster (Act No. 136 of 1970)
Act against Child Prostitution and Pornography …… Act on Punishment of Activities Relating to Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, and the Protection of Children (Act No. 52 of 1999)
Firearms and Swords Control Act …… Act for Controlling the Possession of Firearms or Swords and Other Such Weapons (Act No. 6 of 1958) (including the Cabinet Order to Control the Possession of Firearms and Swords (Cabinet Order No. 334 of 1950))
Investment Act …… Act on Regulation of Receiving of Capital Subscription, Deposits, and Interest Rates, etc. (Act No. 195 of 1954)
Act on Medical Care and Treatment for Insane Persons, etc. …… Act on Medical Care and Treatment for Persons Who Have Caused Serious Cases Under the Condition of Insanity (Act No. 110 of 2003)
Stalker Control Act …… Act on Proscribing Stalking Behavior and Assisting Victims (Act No. 81 of 2000)
Anti-Organized Crime Act …… Act on Punishment of Organized Crime, Control of Crime Proceeds (Act No. 136 of 1999)
Wildlife Protection Act …… Wildlife Protection and Proper Hunting Act (Act No. 88 of 2002) (including Wildlife Protection and Hunting Act (Act No. 32 of 1918))
Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Act …… Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Act (Act No.303 of 1950)
Anti-Monopoly Act …… Act on Prohibition of Private Monopolization and Maintenance of Fair Trade (Act No. 54 of 1947)
Specified Commercial Transactions Act …… Act on Specified Commercial Transactions (Act No. 57 of 1976)
Immigration Control Act …… Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (Cabinet Order No. 319 of 1951)
Wastes Management Act …… Waste Management and Public Cleaning Act (Act No. 137 of 1970)
Spouse Violence Prevention Act …… Act on the Prevention of Spousal Violence and the Protection of Victims (Act No. 31 of 2001)
Amusement Business Act …… Act on Control and Improvement of Amusement Business, etc. (Act No. 122 of 1948)
Unauthorized Computer Access Act …… Act on the Prohibition of Unauthorized Computer Access (Act No. 128 of 1999)
Physical Violence Act …… Act on Punishment of Physical Violence and Others (Act No. 60 of 1926)
Car Parking Spaces Act …… Act on Assurance of Car Parking Spaces and Other Matters (Act No. 145 of 1962)
Act on Special Provisions for Narcotics …… Act Concerning Special Provisions for the Narcotics and Psychotropic Control Act, etc. and Other Matters for the Prevention of Activities Encouraging Illicit Conducts and Other Activities Involving Controlled Substances through International Cooperation (Act No. 94 of 1991)
Narcotics and Psychotropic Control Act …… Narcotics and Psychotropic Control Act (Act No. 14 of 1953)
Public Nuisance Prevention Act …… Act on Prevention of Public Nuisance Caused by Inebriated Persons (Act No. 103 of 1961)
Worker Dispatch Act …… Act for Securing the Proper Operation of Worker Dispatching Undertakings and Improved Working Conditions for Dispatched Workers (Act 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] [Conventional Short Form] [Conventional Long Form]
Asia Bangladesh People's Republic of Bangladesh
China People's Republic of China
Iran Islamic Republic of Iran
Laos Lao People's Democratic Republic
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
Viet Nam Socialist Republic of Viet Nam
Europe Austria Republic of Austria
Belgium Kingdom of Belgium
France French Republic
Germany Federal Republic of Germany
Italy Republic of Italy
Netherlands Kingdom of the Netherlands
Poland Republic of Poland
Sweden Kingdom of Sweden
United Kingdom United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
North America United States of America United States of America
South America Brazil Federative Republic of Brazil
Colombia Republic of Colombia
Peru Republic of Peru
Africa Kenya Republic of Kenya
Nigeria Federal Republic of Nigeria
Oceania Australia Commonwealth of Australia
[Notes]
Conventional short forms of names of countries are based on the “Table of Country Names” compiled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
II. Data Sources
1. Type of statistical materials
Statistics, figures, tables and other calculated data are provided by the following bureaus/department of the Ministry of Justice; Judicial System Department of Minister's Secretariat, Criminal Affairs Bureau, Correction Bureau, Rehabilitation Bureau and Immigration Bureau. Data are also obtained from various researches 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) Crime Statistics by National Police Agency was entitled “Crime Statistics” until 1963 and renamed “Crimes 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) The statistical data up to 1972 do not include the data of Okinawa Prefecture prior to May 14, 1972.
(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
Statistical materials cover the period up to 2007 and available data at August 2008.
For those statistical data for 2007 that were not available in form of official publication at the time of drafting, raw data offered by relevant agencies were used. Those data are provisional in nature and may differ from the corresponding data in the subsequent publication. In such cases, the relevant figures will be corrected in the White Paper on Crime for the coming years. In addition, the same correction will be made with any change within the official statistical publications.
III. Presentation of Figures and Tables
1. Numbering of figures and tables
The numbering of figures and tables are indicated in the order of the part, chapter, section (for example, Fig. 2-4-2-3 indicates Part 2, Chapter 4, Section 2, Figure 3).
2. Presentation of values, etc.
(1) Numerical values, etc. in tables are presented as follows:
(i) “–” zero in number or not applicable or the percentage thereof
(ii) “0” number that does not reach one when rounded off
(iii) “0.0” percent ratio that does not reach 0.1 when rounded off
(iv) “…” data/statistical materials not available, or when the parameter is zero
(2) Numerical value 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 off
IV. Other
1. In the White Paper on Crime, “treatment” refers to treatment that persons cleared by police or other investigative authorities receive at each stage of prosecution, trial, correction, and rehabilitation.
2. Calculation method
The percentage ratio and ratio, etc. are rounded off. Therefore, the figures for percent ratio may not add up to 100.0.
In addition, the sum or difference of each ratio is calculated by first adding or subtracting values and then rounding off the resulting value. Thus, the value may not match the value calculated by first rounding off each value and then adding or subtracting rounded off values.
For example, when calculating the difference between 12.76 and 7.53, the result 5.2 obtained by first subtracting 7.53 from 12.76 and then rounding off the value 5.23 does not match the result 5.3 obtained by subtracting the rounded off value of 7.5 from the rounded off value of 12.8.
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