In late September, South Korea joined a group of nations where the movements of released sex-crime offenders are electronically monitored. Such offenders have to wear electronic anklets and additional communication devices all the time. Fifty-three convicted offenders have become the first group to wear the Global Positioning System devices.

In April, a special panel of the Liberal Democratic Party proposed discussing the merits of GPS-based electronic monitoring of sex-crime repeaters. A panel of the Justice Ministry's Legislative Council has also touched on the issue.

Politicians and officials in Japan should not jump to conclusions about the issue without a broad, informed public debate. It is necessary that they carefully examine what is happening in the nations where the GPS monitoring system is being used and to disseminate their findings to the public.