2 Preparation of penal statute reflecting changes in crime trends

A variety of new legislation has been introduced concerning the punishments imposed on crimes. Some important amendments of the Penal Code have also taken place in thus enabling a wider range of sentencing and dispositions that better reflect the status of the crime. The changes include tightening of penal provisions for violation of traffic related acts, preparation of a penal statute, and review of statutory penalties in thereby adapting to changes in crime trends.

Act No. 26 of 2010 excluded offenses resulting in death of the victim from the statute of limitations or extended the period of the statute of limitations for such offenses on April 27, 2010, and the prescription of sentence accordingly revised.

In addition, the Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure, etc. were revised on June 17, 2011 (by Act No. 74 of 2011) in thus more appropriately responding to criminal conduct associated with advances in information processing and the malignant obstruction of compulsory execution, and thereby resulting in the development of penal statutes that include criminalization of illegal creation of unauthorized command for electromagnetic records, etc. and evidence collection procedure provisions that include the creation of orders to produce new electromagnetic records to be seized, etc., as well as scope of criminal offences being expanded and statutory penalty being raised for obstruction of compulsory execution , etc. (See Sections 2 and 3, Chapter 3, Part 1).