Three out of four respondents to a government survey said they were worried about crimes against children, the Cabinet Office said Thursday.
The finding is part of the first public opinion poll on children's security conducted following a spate of high-profile violent crimes targeting young people, including a case in Akita Prefecture in which a woman allegedly killed her daughter and a neighborhood boy.
Asked about what the government should do, 54.0 percent said there should be more police patrols, 51.9 percent asked for more security on school routes and 49.9 percent wanted to be given information about suspicious individuals in their neighborhoods.
In addition, 73.4 percent said they were willing to join crime prevention activities in their communities, according to the national survey of 1,833 people aged 20 or older. The poll was done between late June and early July.
Of the respondents, 25.9 percent said they "often" worry about crimes against children and 48.2 percent said they "sometimes" worry, while 25.1 percent said they are not worried that much or at all.
Asked to mark all the reasons that they were worried, 85.9 percent chose frequent news reports about crimes involving children, 33.2 percent said because they do not know their neighbors and 31.1 percent marked that kids were coming home later following after-school activities.