The number of crimes recorded in Japan rose in 2022 for the first time in 20 years, apparently due in part to an increase in street crime as COVID-19 restrictions eased, police data showed Thursday.
Overall, there were 601,389 incidents in which a crime was committed in Japan last year, up 5.9% from 2021, when the rate hit its lowest level in the postwar era. Consultations on domestic violence and suspected child abuse cases both hit all-time highs.
In an online survey conducted by the National Police Agency in October last year, 67.1% of respondents felt public safety in Japan had declined over the past 10 years, possibly affected by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's assassination in July as well as a number of stabbings in recent years.