The Justice Ministry's 2011 white paper on crime reports that in 2010 the police recognized 2,271,309 criminal incidents (5.4 percent less than in 2009) and made arrests in 1,182,809 cases. The number of criminal incidents has declined for eight consecutive years since the peak year of 2002, in which some 3.69 million criminal incidents were recognized. But how to prevent recidivism has become a big issue.
Among those who were subject to criminal investigation in 2010 (excluding those who caused traffic accidents), 42.7 percent were repeat offenders — a record high since 1991. Among minors, 31.5 percent were repeat offenders — also a record high since 1975, when statistics began being taken.
By age brackets, minors (under age 20) formed the largest group (27 percent) among those who became the target of criminal investigation. Minors and those aged 20 to 29 account for 43 percent of the total.