TOKYO (Kyodo) — Japanese police investigated more than 1,300 cases of stalking in 2024, the highest since a law criminalizing the act was enacted in 2000, according to police data released Thursday.
The figure is 260 cases higher than the previous year and comes as the National Police Agency has instructed forces working out of prefectural headquarters to liaise more closely with local stations to better respond to such complaints.
Police put added emphasis on stalking after the May discovery of the body of Asahi Okazaki, 20, who had gone to police to report abuse from her former partner, who has since been arrested in connection with her death.
The figures from the agency also showed that a record 2,415 restraining orders were issued in 2024, up 452. Police received 19,567 stalking consultations, 276 fewer than the previous year but still around the 20,000 annual mark seen recently.
Of the 1,341 cases investigated for violations of the anti-stalking act, 1,108 involved activities such as following individuals or attempting to arrange an in-person meeting with the target. The remaining 233 were restraining order violations.
Under Japan’s anti-stalking law, individuals repeatedly committing such acts can be imprisoned for up to a year or fined up to 1 million yen ($7,000). Those ignoring police warnings or restraining orders face up to two years in prison or fines of up to 2 million yen.
Separately, 1,743 stalking-related crimes were investigated in 2024 under laws such as the Penal Code. They included 378 home intrusions, 187 instances of intimidation and 122 assaults.
The data also showed there were 63 rape investigations and 11 for attempted murder.
To better reflect the reality of stalking issues, police revised their statistical methods in 2024 to include all relevant cases regardless of when consultation occurred. Data until 2023 included only restraining orders and investigations from cases consulted in the same year.
