A record-high 37,020 minors aged under 18 were sent to child welfare authorities as suspected victims of child abuse in 2015, up 28.0 percent from the previous year, police reported Thursday.

The same report compiled by the National Police Agency also said the number of children under 18 who have become victims of child pornography in Japan rose to a record-high 905 in 2015, up 159 from the year before.

The total includes 2,624 minors who were given police protection at night or in emergency situations where the police thought the children were facing a threat to their lives, up for the third straight year.