Police in Saitama Prefecture failed to follow up on 66 juvenile crime cases between 1997 and 2000 even after suspects had been identified, police officials said Tuesday.
The cases can no longer be prosecuted because the statute of limitations has expired or the suspects have become adults, they said.
This is something that should not have happened, Sadakazu Tanigaki, head of the National Public Safety Commission, told a regularly scheduled news conference.
Tanigaki added that handling juvenile cases is a "large pillar" of police activities. He said authorities would review current personnel distribution to try to make up for any under-staffing in sections dealing with juvenile crime.