The typical perpetrator of domestic violence in Japan is a 40-year-old male who drinks regularly and has a six-year history of assaulting family members, according to a recent Justice Ministry study.
The research, the first comprehensive study of its kind in Japan and done against a backdrop of worsening domestic abuse, also found that violence in the home took place in the presence of children in 42.5 percent of the cases.
Another study by the ministry on victims of domestic violence found that one out of every five victims was unable to receive any help even though they contacted police, relatives or others for assistance before the violence began.