OSAKA -- Osaka Prefectural Police, in cooperation with a nonprofit organization, will on Thursday debut on a trial basis a program to introduce victims of rape to professional counselors.
The service, which will be launched on a full-scale basis in October based on findings from the test period, is the first in Japan in which police are directly involved in securing for rape victims systematic counseling from professionals in the private sector.
If a rape victim wants to receive counseling, an expert from the Kansai Counseling Center is dispatched. Ten counselors from the center have been commissioned to handle cases sent by police.