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September 03, 2025
 

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NPA

Losses in Japan due to special fraud cases reached ¥72.21 billion during the period from January to July, surpassing the worst-ever annual total of ¥71.88 billion in 2024, according to the National Police Agency.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 2, 2025
Losses due to special fraud cases from January to July exceed 2024 record
Two-thirds of the cases involved "fake police," with offenders posing as police officers to swindle targets out of money, National Police Agency data shows.
Reflecting a sharp rise in fraud cases involving offenders posing as police officers, the number of special fraud cases between January and June increased 50% from a year before, with the amount of damage shooting up by 2.6 times.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 1, 2025
'Fake police' fraud cases surging in Japan
The amount of money swindled in such cases totaled ¥38.93 billion between January and June.
The number of car accidents in Japan resulting in death or serious injury that were caused by foreign drivers in the first half of 2025 totaled 258, up by 19 from a year earlier and exceeding 250 for the first time since 2008, according to the National Police Agency.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 30, 2025
Ratio of serious car accidents caused by foreign drivers hits record 2.1%
A total of 258 of such accidents, which caused death or serious injury, occurred in the first half of 2025, according to National Police Agency data.
The National Police Agency noted in a special section of its fiscal 2025 report that the spread of social media has made it easy for loosely organized crime groups to contact regular citizens and commit crimes.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 29, 2025
NPA white paper highlights crimes surrounding social media
In 2024, the number of social media-linked investment and romance fraud cases police detected around the country exceeded 10,000, with victims defrauded of some ¥127.2 billion.
A screenshot of the National Police Agency's crime victim support portal website, Gyutto Channel
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 25, 2025
Police in Japan set up website to support crime victims
The website was created following comments that the previous information on support on the National Police Agency's homepage was difficult to understand.
Police officers prepare the venue where Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, was scheduled to deliver his first campaign speech for the Upper House election, on July 3 in Kobe.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 24, 2025
Police detect 889 threatening posts ahead of Upper House poll
The National Police Agency confirmed the 889 threatening posts through cyber patrol and also thanks to reports from the public between June 16 and Saturday.
Police check the area before Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba gives a speech in Kobe on July 3 to kick off campaigning for the July 20 Upper House election.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 10, 2025
Police double staff who help prevent lone-wolf attacks after 2022 Abe shooting
Japan's National Police Agency has also strengthened cyber patrols to find threatening posts on social media and collect information about suspicious individuals.
The National Police Agency has drafted stricter identification rules for secondhand metal dealers in order to prevent the resale of stolen goods.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 26, 2025
NPA to toughen ID rules for metal dealers amid surge in stolen AC units
The National Police Agency drafted amendments that would require metal dealers to verify sellers’ identities and keep transaction records for three years.
According to the National Police Agency, Japan recorded 2,946 mountain-related accidents last year involving 3,357 individuals.
JAPAN
Jun 19, 2025
Police agency records 3,357 people in mountain accidents last year
The number of fatalities and missing persons in 2024 stood at 300, a decrease of 35 from the previous year.
Eight banks have entered into an agreement with the National Police Agency to share information on suspicious accounts as part of efforts to combat special fraud schemes.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 18, 2025
Major banks team up with police to combat special fraud
Under a new agreement, the banks will send information on suspicious accounts directly to the police instead of channeling it through the Financial Services Agency.
In Japan, the National Police Agency and others secured the safety of 129 domestic servers under the Interpol-led operation.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 12, 2025
Japan joins international crackdown on malware-linked servers
The National Police Agency and others secured the safety of 129 domestic servers under the Interpol-led operation.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department said that an undercover investigation helped identify a suspect in an attempted scam case in the greater Tokyo area.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 10, 2025
New police method reveals shady part-time job suspect
It was the first time for police to detect a suspect under the investigation method introduced in January.
National Police Agency data showed a 24.1% increase in stalking-related arrests last year, with 1,341 individuals detained for violating the anti-stalking law, marking the highest figure since its revision in 2016.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 5, 2025
Stalking-related arrests surge by 24% in 2024 to record high
Restraining orders issued under the anti-stalking law also climbed 23% last year, according to the National Police Agency.
The National Police Agency headquarters in Tokyo
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2025
Child abuse cases hit record high in Japan in 2024
The number of victims rose by 285 from the previous year to 2,700.
"Handguns" sold over online shopping websites. The National Police Agency has issued a warning about toy pistols sold online that are capable of firing live ammunition.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 27, 2025
Police issue warning over toy pistols capable of firing live rounds
Possession of such products constitutes a violation of the firearms and swords control law, the National Police Agency said.
Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department headquarters. Along with the National Police Agency, the MPD will carry out a major reorganization to beef up investigations into tokuryū groups.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 22, 2025
Japan police to launch team targeting tokuryū masterminds
The new police office is set to gather and assess information on tokuryū leaders around the country and identify targets for crackdowns.
Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Itsunori Onodera (fourth from left) visits a driver's license center in Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo, on Wednesday to see how foreign driver's licenses are converted into Japanese ones.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 22, 2025
Japan considers toughening rules on driver's license conversions
The National Police Agency revealed the plan amid concerns that the system for converting a foreign license is too easy.
A vehicle carrying Hideyuki Shirai, who was arrested on suspicion of abandoning the body of ex-girlfriend Asahi Okazaki at his home, leaves the Kanagawa Prefectural Police Headquarters to be sent to prosecutors, in the city of Yokohama on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 9, 2025
NPA chief urges Kanagawa police to review response to stalker case
Asahi Okazaki, 20, was found at her ex-boyfriend's home last month. Her family claims she was stalked and that the police response was inadequate.
Two Japanese men are suspected of helping an IT worker from North Korea create an account for a job-matching service by sending driver's license photos and other information to the IT worker in September and October 2020.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 8, 2025
Pair suspected of helping North Korean IT worker pose as a Japanese citizen
Police in Tokyo believe the IT worker was involved in North Korea's efforts to obtain foreign currency.
Among those arrested, 1,011 were ringleaders or individuals who gave instructions. About 90% were perpetrators, including people who received defrauded money, and around 40% became involved in the crimes through recruitment via social media.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 3, 2025
New ‘tokuryū’ crime groups outpace yakuza in arrests
The term was coined by the National Police Agency to describe a new form of criminal group that has emerged as an alternative to traditional yakuza organizations.
More sweltering days forecast for September after hottest summer on record
By the end of August, 8,341 people had been transported by ambulance for heatstroke in Tokyo alone.
‘Mount Fuji Lawson’ becomes a symbol of Japan’s overtourism problem
A couple poses for a wedding photo in front of a Lawson in the town of Kawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Aug. 25.
Surrounded by Chinese bases, a tiny Philippine island stands firm
A Philippine Navy sailor looks at a China Coast Guard vessel just off the coast of Pag-asa Island in the disputed South China Sea last month.
Woman dies after possible knife attack in Setagaya
Police investigate the scene where a woman was found bleeding on a street in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward on Monday.
Suntory CEO Takeshi Niinami resigns over alleged possession of illegal drugs
Takeshi Niinami, then-chief executive officer of Suntory Holdings, in May 2024
Why Stalin didn’t invade Hokkaido still largely unknown, 80 years after WWII
During a survey to collect the remains of victims from the Taito Maru, one of the vessels involved in the Three Ships Incident, a metal helmet was found near the stern of the vessel on Aug. 5, 1984, at Rumoi Port. No human remains were discovered.
More sweltering days forecast for September after hottest summer on record
By the end of August, 8,341 people had been transported by ambulance for heatstroke in Tokyo alone.
Surrounded by Chinese bases, a tiny Philippine island stands firm
A Philippine Navy sailor looks at a China Coast Guard vessel just off the coast of Pag-asa Island in the disputed South China Sea last month.
‘Mount Fuji Lawson’ becomes a symbol of Japan’s overtourism problem
A couple poses for a wedding photo in front of a Lawson in the town of Kawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Aug. 25.
‘Cool’ Patagonia wants to take used items into the mainstream
"It's not just about sales. It's about system change," said Marty Pomphrey, general manager of Patagonia Japan, on Aug. 6.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past
By Alex K.T. Martin

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