NEWSWORTHY
60,000 elderly drivers in Japan suspected of having dementia during license renewal: police
The revised road traffic law, which requires elderly drivers to see a doctor if dementia is suspected during a preliminary screening, took effect on March 12 last year.
Japanese calling the police more than ever to address nonurgent matters
Police dealt with a record-high number of consultations last year over problems that were not pressing, such as noisy neighbors and graffiti.
Over 90% of Japan's child abuse and sexual crime victims didn't receive compensation: survey
Only a small proportion of those subject to violent crimes knew about available consultation services, and fewer still were able to secure financial assistance to which they were entitled.
Government looks to relax requirements for bus and taxi licenses amid labor crunch
A National Police Agency panel began talks Wednesday to ease eligibility requirements for those looking to take tests for bus and taxi licenses, in response to chronic labor shortages due to Japan's graying workforce. The panel, which includes a university professor familiar with the Penal ...
Police suspect a record 65,431 minors were abused in Japan in 2017
The National Police Agency said a 24.9% rise in psychological abuse contributed to the overall increase.
Japan's juvenile crime at postwar record low, but rising marijuana use concerns police agency
The number of teens implicated in cases involving marijuana increased by more than fivefold between 2013 and 2017, the National Police Agency said, raising concern that use of the drug is spreading among juveniles. A total of 297 people aged between 14 and 19 were ...
NPA cryptocurrency tips point to 669 suspected money-laundering cases from April to December
The police on Thursday disclosed that 669 cases of suspected money laundering had been reported by cryptocurrency exchanges between April and December. The tipoffs came in the wake of a legal revision last April to prevent the transfer of criminal proceeds that obliges exchanges to ...
Suicides in Japan notched eight consecutive drop in 2017, preliminary data show
Japan likely achieved an annual 3.5 percent drop in suicides in 2017 thanks to an improving economy and better prevention efforts.
Pachinko parlors are losing their balls while Japan considers a cashless economy
With the Diet's passing of a law last December that will legalize casino gambling, many are wondering how this development will affect the few forms of tightly controlled gambling and gaming that have been permitted up to now — like pachinko (a type of ...
Cases of minors falling prey to crimes via social media rise to a record in the first half
The number of minors targeted in crimes such as child pornography and prostitution via social media hit a record high.
NPA survey of 'JK biz' involving school-aged girls finds 114 outlets in operation nationwide
At least 114 outlets of so-called JK businesses, where girls of high school age dress in school uniforms, swimsuits and other costumes and entertain customers, were in operation as of the end of June, according to the National Police Agency on Thursday. A police survey ...
Japan saw crime drop 7.7 percent in the first half and the tally for the year is likely to drop to another postwar low, a National Police Agency report showed Thursday. There were 450,887 criminal offenses reported from January to June, the NPA said. The annual ...
