The National Police Agency is considering legal revisions to allow police to issue warnings against stalkers at their discretion even without requests from victims, sources said Friday.
Under Japan's anti-stalking law, police station chiefs can issue warnings to deter perpetrators if requested by victims.
But victims may hesitate to make such requests for fear of retaliation or may withdraw them following a temporary improvement in their relationships with the perpetrators.
To address stalking, the stricter administrative measure of a prohibition order can be taken with approval of a public safety commission. However, this process often takes time due to the need to collect evidence.
The agency also hopes to strengthen regulations on the use of loss prevention tags that use radio signals to transmit location information to nearby smartphones, as such devices can be used to track individuals without their consent.
Of suspected cases of stalking that employed GPS or other similar devices that victims reported to the police in 2024, those linked to loss prevention tags numbered 370, double the number of the preceding year.
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