Silviase/jgov_v1.4_full_ann huggingface dataset:
constructed the database that centralizes investigative information on names of Furikome fraud (extortion) perpetrators, crime tricks and other matters for figuring out the actual picture of Furikome frauds (extortion) and efficiently gathering related information.

### c. Implementation of the freezing of deposit accounts

The freezing of deposit accounts (steps to suspend transactions) used in Furikome frauds (extortion) is important to block the withdrawal of defrauded funds and prevent fresh damage from occurring. Hence, police, when being consulted over Furikome frauds (extortion) or receiving reports of fraud damage, promptly file requests for financial institutions to freeze deposit accounts after determining whether the matters of consultations or reporting justify suspicions of crimes.

### d. Approaches to related business operator

Police are encouraging related business operators offering a variety of services that are prone to be taken advantage of in Furikome frauds (extortion) to take necessary measures, including requests to financial institutions to be active in calling to customers who might be suffering from Furikome fraud (extortion) damage.

2) Measures taken after the creation of the Office against Furikome Frauds

### a. Creation of the Office against Furikome Frauds

After Furikome frauds (extortion) caused damage at the worst pace on record during the first half of 2008, the National Police Agency decided to step up agency-wide efforts to cope with Furikome frauds by establishing the Office against Furikome Frauds, headed by the Deputy Commissioner General, in June 2008. Prefectural Police also have assigned the role of "playmaker" to officers who supervise criminal investigation, community safety and other relevant divisions in order to enhance cooperation among relevant divisions and decided to promote comprehensive crackdown and prevention activities while obtaining the cooperation of related institutions and organizations.

### b. Formulation and announcement of action plan for the eradication of Furikome frauds

Since it is necessary for the public and private sectors alike to take various society-wide measures, let alone enhanced crackdown activities, to eradicate Furikome frauds (extortion), and more than anything else, the people’s understanding and cooperation is essential, the National Police Agency and the Ministry of Justice in July 2008 worked out the basic approach and guidelines for measures to cope with Furikome frauds and announced them as “Action Plan for the Eradication of Furikome Frauds.”
c. Implementation of the Enhanced Promotion Period for crackdown and prevention activities for the eradication of Furikome frauds

In order to help reduce the damage from Furikome frauds (extortion) substantially, police designated October 2008 as the “Enhanced Promotion Period for crackdown and prevention activities for the eradication of Furikome frauds” to promote concerted crackdown efforts to eradicate Furikome frauds and strove to create a social environment conducive to the eradication of Furikome frauds (extortion) by carrying out awareness activities and other prevention activities with the cooperation of related institutions and organizations.

As a consequence, the number of confirmed fraud cases declined by 36.5% and the total amount of damage plummeted by 46.6% from the monthly average for March-June 2008, which proved to be the peak of 2008.

Through these efforts and measures, the aggregate amount of damage in 2008 stopped short of surpassing the worst record registered in 2004.

Moreover, police again designated February 2009 as the “Enhanced Promotion Period,” and as a result of all-out crackdown activities by police and forceful promotion of coordinated prevention activities by the public and private sectors, the month saw the 50.0% plunge in the number of confirmed fraud cases and the 47.8% fall in the aggregate amount of damage from the October 2008 levels, with both the number and the amount less than one-third of the peak levels during 2008 to market the lowest since July 2004.

3) Promotion of all-out crackdown activities by police

a. Drives to arrest criminal groups

Prefectural Police are boosting their investigations by creating organizations dedicated to investigations into Furikome frauds, securing enough manpower and building up cross-divisional centralized crackdown systems.

The National Police Agency is also feeding back centralized information to Prefectural Police to promote strategic crackdown activities while proactively facilitating joint and cooperative investigations among Prefectural Police, thus making all-out efforts to arrest criminal groups.

As a consequence of these efforts, police arrested a total of 699 suspects of Furikome frauds (extortion), including core members $ ^{1} $ of criminal groups, in 2008.

Note 1: Leaders who supervise two or more group members, including ringleaders and field commanders
### b. Intense crackdown on withdrawers of defrauded money and release of their images

The crackdown on those who withdraw defrauded money from deposit accounts is important not only in gaining investigative clues leading to core members of criminal groups but also in preventing defrauded money from being delivered to criminal groups and eventually causing criminal groups to lose incentives for continuing offenses. Therefore, police are stepping up the questioning of particularly those who deliberately hide their faces by wearing sunglasses or caps by the stakeout by plain-clothes policemen and surveillance activities by uniformed policemen at locations of ATMs highly likely to be used for defrauded money withdrawals and during hours when withdrawals are highly likely to be made.

Furthermore, police are striving to arrest perpetrators at an early date and prevent the damage from spreading further by, as required, releasing images of defrauded money withdrawers captured by security cameras installed at ATMs

### c. Promotion of clearance of crimes that would facilitate Furikome frauds (extortion)

Since perpetrating tools such as cell phones and deposit accounts under fictitious or other people’s names are used in Furikome frauds (extortion), police are cracking down on practices to facilitate Furikome frauds (extortion) by cutting off the distribution of such tools and preventing them from being delivered to criminal groups by making full use of relevant laws, including the Penal Code, the Act on Prevention of Improper Use of Mobile Phones and the Act on Prevention of Transfer of Criminal Proceeds.

While arresting those who bought cell phones or opened deposit accounts by concealing their intentions to sell them to other people or those who used identification documents in fictitious or other people’s names to illegally conclude cell phone purchase contracts or to open deposit accounts, police are also striving to expose tool dealers who provide perpetrating tools to criminal groups on a repetitive and continuous basis. As one of methods to crack down on tool dealers, police also conduct sting operations where police officers posing as customers contact and arrest those people who are attracting illicit buying and selling of cell phones and deposit accounts using the Internet.

### d. Neutralization of phones and deposit accounts used in fraud crimes

Through active gathering and utilization of information on attempted frauds, police are striving to neutralize phones, deposit accounts and other perpetrating tools, with police officers making calls to phones used to deceive potential victims and give
information.

### a. Creation of the consumer safety information coordinator system

In September 2008, the consumer safety information coordinator system was created by relevant institutions $ ^{1} $ as part of the government’s concerted efforts to secure the safety of consumers, with which the government is reinforcing systems to gather and share information concerning damage that may be caused to consumers’ lives and bodies and strengthening the rapid response system in emergencies. At the National Police Agency, the Director-General of the Criminal Investigation Bureau has been chosen as its consumer safety information coordinator.

### b. Establishment of the Liaison Council on Food Labeling

In February 2008, relevant institutions $ ^{2} $ established the Liaison Council on Food Labeling, and prefectures have their own councils.

Relevant institutions are in the process of sharing relevant information to help facilitate responses of the Food Labeling Surveillance Council $ ^{3} $

### c. Others

In addition to the above, police are strengthening mutual cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, etc. through exchanges of views and information concerning offenses that threaten the safety and security of food and manufactured products.

Note 1: The Cabinet Office; the National Police Agency: the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications; the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology; the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry; and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

2: The Cabinet Office; the Fair Trade Commission; the National Police Agency; the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

3: Established by relevant prefectural institutions, including police, and outpost agencies of the national government to strengthen surveillance over food mislabeling. When information in food mislabeling is forwarded, the Council shares the information and exchanges opinions, as needed, and makes necessary responses promptly, including action against offending business operators.

## (2) Measures to Cope with Health-Related Offenses

Police are actively cracking down on health-related offenses. Police are making efforts to prevent recurrence of similar cases by publicizing tactics of offenders in a timely and appropriate manner, and if offenses are committed by authorized business operators, police notify relevant institutions of offenses and encourage them to impose administrative penalties against them.
to as the “guidelines”) in January 2008. These guidelines show the four pillars of policies that the police should engage in for the moment: strengthening of supervision regarding interrogation, tightening control on interrogation time, strengthening of other measures to secure the propriety of interrogation procedures and raising awareness among those involved in investigations.

The NPA is advancing measures such as the following based on the guidelines in order to secure the propriety of interrogations.

The biggest objective of the guidelines is the strengthening of supervision for interrogations. In other words, supervision by other departments aside from the one carrying out an interrogation. In April 2009, regulations regarding supervision to improve the interrogation of suspects (hereafter “interrogation improvement regulations”) were implemented.

Based on interrogation improvement regulations, supervision of suspect interrogation is positioned as a method aiming to prevent inappropriate interrogation practices before they occur by first verifying whether an act is one subject to supervision as it may lead to appropriate interrogation practices and then putting into place a supervisor who can put a stop to interrogation should he/she recognize anything wrong over the course of interrogation.

An Interrogation Supervision Guidance Division has been established within the Commissioner-General’s Secretariat of the NPA, and personnel have been assigned to interrogation supervision within the Personnel and Training Bureaus and Administration Bureaus of the NPA and each prefectural police organization. By carrying out important infrastructure creation measures such as these, the police are planning for the operation of an appropriate system.
# Topic III. The strengthening of digital forensics

The police aim to thoroughly collect objective evidence by following appropriate procedures, and are thus strengthening digital forensics (electronic record analysis technology aimed at recovering evidence, and the procedures related to such technology), a field which plays an important role in gathering the evidence of crime.

As electronic devices like computers and mobile phones have become more prevalent, they have come to be misused in all kinds of crimes. Thus, the analysis of the digital data stored on these various types of electronic devices has come to be indispensable in investigations.

Additionally, with the trial-by-jury system, there is a need to thoroughly gather objective evidence which can help jurors, who are not specialists on the law or technology, form accurate impressions.

The NPA is strengthening their efforts toward digital forensics (technology for or process of analyzing digital data to use as criminal evidence) to analyze digital data that can be easily deleted or altered and so on.

## (1) The importance of digital forensics

In order to turn important information related to crime investigations which is saved within electronic devices into evidence, it is necessary to export that information from the electronic machines and turn that information into a format which allows for the people recorded in the data's words and images to be recognized. Electronic record analysis is indispensable for this.

High technology is needed in order to export/analyze information stored in damaged electronic devices and export/analyze information hidden with passwords and other security measures.

The remarkable progress of electronic devices and constant introduction of new machines means that there is a need to constantly be collecting and analyzing the latest information.

## (2) The initiatives of the police regarding digital forensics

1) The improvement of infrastructure

Information Technology Analysis Divisions have been set up in the Info-Communications Bureau of the NPA, the Info-Communications Departments of Regional Police Bureaus and the Info-Communications Departments of each Prefectural (Area) Info-Communications Department and for criminal investigations carried out by prefectural police organizations, technology support systems utilizing digital forensics have been established to give police technical instruction on how to seize computers and electronic recording media from locations where a search and seizure is being carried out, and to help police analyze the information exported from computers and mobile phones. As seen in Diagram III-2, the number of cases in which technical support was carried out by an Information Technology Analysis Division of Prefectural (Area) Info-Communications Departments is on the rise.

The police aim to thoroughly collect objective evidence by following appropriate procedures, and are thus strengthening digital forensics (electronic record analysis technology aimed at recovering evidence, and the procedures related to such technology), a field which plays an important role in gathering the evidence of crime.
2) Improving the analytical ability of the police

The NPA Technology Center $ ^{1} $ is carrying out extraction and analysis for information stored using passwords and security measures that Prefectural (Area) Info-Communications Departments find difficult to deal with and for information contained on damaged hard drives. The Center also investigates new methods of analysis.

In order to respond to the introduction of new electronic devices and criminals which use high-technology to do such things as create malicious programs such as computer viruses, the High-Tech Crime Technology Division of the Info-Communications Bureau of the NPA conducts research through which it plans for the improvement of the analytical ability of the police by promoting the collection and systemization of knowledge relating to the analysis of electronic records done by the Police Info-Communications Research Center.

Furthermore, the police are working to foster personnel that can appropriately utilize technology in Regional Police Bureau Info-Communications Departments and Prefectural (Area) Info-Communications Departments by holding training courses at the National Police Academy.

## 3 ) Strengthening linkages with relevant organizations

The police are working to strengthen linkages with relevant organizations. In order to gain needed technical information regarding electronic records, the police are proceeding with technical cooperation measures with relevant enterprises such as those in the electronic device manufacturing industry. Additionally, with the aim of sharing information, the police are dispatching personnel to the Digital Forensics Conference, a meeting featuring the participation of domestic investigation organizations, meetings of the Cybercrime Technology Information Network System, and to the world-leader in digital forensics, the NFI. $ ^{2} $

Note 1: When the Technology Countermeasures Division (Contemporary Information Technology Analysis Division) was established within the Info-Communications Bureau of the NPA as an organization to give technical instructions to prefectural police organizations regarding cyber-crime countermeasures in April 1999, because a central technology organization was established within that same Division, it was able to attract those possessing particularly high-level knowledge and technical abilities, making it a highly functional analytical institution.

2: Netherlands Forensic Institute
police work to thoroughly inform area residents about the locations of evacuation zones during times of disaster and the things to remember about the zones. The police also talk with the managers of locations where many people gather, such as department stores and theaters, telling them about points of concern during disasters and requesting that the managers secure lighting and power sources for such time. Finally, the police are working together with relevant organizations and groups to promote disaster prevention among the people.
# Chapter I. Securing Safety in Daily Life and Criminal Investigation Activities

### Section 1. The Crime Situation and Countermeasures

1. Penal Code Offenses

## (1) The Number of Confirmed Penal Code Offenses and the Number of Penal Code Offenses Cleared

The number of confirmed Penal Code offenses has maintained the highest record since the war for seven consecutive years from 1996 to 2002, and in 2002 it exceeded the 2.85 million mark. It began to decline from 2003 and in 2008 it reduced by 90,813 cases (4.8%) compared to the previous year to reach 1,818,023. However, despite the decline, the figure has remained at a level that far outstrips that of the roughly 1.2 million offenses per year seen from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, and the situation remains serious.

The number of Penal Code offenses cleared has remained at the 600,000 level from 2003 to 2007 but marked 573,392 cases in 2008, a decrease of 31,966 cases (5.3%) compared to the previous year.

The number of arrests of Penal Code offenders has lingered around the 300,000 mark since 1997. Between 2001 and 2004, it continued to increase every year before it began to reduce in 2005. In 2008 it reached 339,752 persons, a decrease of 25,825 persons (7.1%) compared to the previous year.

The clearance rate for Penal Code offenses during the Showa period (25 December 1926 – 7 January 1989) was roughly at the level of 60%, but it rapidly decreased from the Heisei period (8 January 1989) and in 2001 it was 19.8%, the lowest rate since the end of the war. However, from 2002 it continued to increase up until 2006. However in 2008 it decreased to 31.5% (an increase of 0.2 points from the previous year).
Table 1–1 Trends in the Number of Confirmed/Cleared Penal Code Offenses (1998 – 2007)

Year	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Category
Number of confirmed cases (cases)	2,165,626	2,443,470	2,735,612	2,853,739	2,790,136	2,562,767	2,269,293	2,050,850	1,908,836	1,818,023
Number of arrests (cases)	731,284	576,771	542,115	592,359	648,319	667,620	649,503	640,657	605,358	573,392
Number of clearances (persons)	315,355	309,649	325,292	347,558	379,602	389,027	386,955	384,250	365,577	339,752
Clearance rate (\%)	33.8	23.6	19.8	20.8	23.2	26.1	28.6	31.2	31.7	31.5

## (2) Victims of Penal Code Offenses

The number of persons who died or received bodily injury due to Penal Code offenses was 36,153 in 2008, which was a reduction of 2,869 persons (7.4%) from the previous year. However, the number of deaths was 1,211, an increase of 77 persons (6.8%) compared to the previous year.

The amount of loss $ ^{1} $ resulting from offenses against property was 224.662 billion yen in 2008, a reduction of 3.932 billion yen (1.7%) from the previous year.

Note 1: Refers to the amount of loss due to robbery, extortion, larceny, fraud, embezzlement and stealing of lost property.
Diagram 1-2 Trends in the Number of Persons who Died or Received Bodily Injury due to Penal Code Offenses (1989-2008)

Note: The seriously injured indicates those who suffer from injuries requiring one month's recovery.

Diagram1-3 Trends in the Amount of Loss resulting from Offenses against Property (1989-2008)

## (3) Confirmed Serious Crimes and Number of Offenses Cleared

The number of confirmed serious crimes $ ^{1} $ rapidly increased from 1999 to 2003 mainly due to the increase in robberies and indecent assaults. Since 2004 the figure has been decreasing and declined further in 2008 from the previous year by 1,075 cases (6.4%).

The number of offenses cleared and arrests was on an increasing trend. However, it began to decrease in 2004 and in and in 2008 the number of clearances and arrests fell further compared to the previous year. The clearance rate declined rapidly from 1999 to 2002 but began to increase from 2003, and reached 62.6% in 2008.

Note 1: Refers to homicide, arson, rape, abduction and kidnap, human trafficking, and indecent assault.
Diagram 1-4 Trends in the Situation of Confirmed/Cleared Serious Crimes (1999-2008)

Year	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Category	Number of Confirmed Cases (cases)	14,682	18,281	21,530	22,294	23,971	22,568	20,388	18,649	16,922	15,847
Number of Cases Cleared (cases)	10,491	11,049	11,418	11,186	12,362	11,812	11,419	11,084	10,181	9,925
Number of Arrests (persons)	9,307	9,954	9,905	10,029	10,786	9,931	9,509	8,880	8,315	7,982
Clearance Rate (%)	71.5	60.4	53.0	50.2	51.6	52.3	56.0	59.4	60.2	62.6

## 1 ) Homicide

The number of confirmed homicides continued to decrease since 2004 and reached its lowest post-war level in 2007. However, in 2008 the number of confirmed homicides was 1,297, an increase of 98 cases (8.2%) compared to the previous year. Both the number of clearances and persons arrested increased in 2008 as well.

In 2008 the clearance rate was 95.4%, a 1.1 point decrease compared to the previous year, but nonetheless it is being maintained at a high level compared to other types of serious crimes.
Diagram 1-5 Trends in the Situation of Confirmed/Cleared Homicide Offenses (1999 – 2008)

## 2 ) Confirmed/Cleared Robbery Offenses

61.1%, the same rate as the previous year.

The numbers of confirmed robberies, clearances, and arrests increased from 1996 to 2003, but started to decline from 2004. All figures in 2008 were lower than the previous year. In 2008 the clearance rate was

Diagram 1-6 Trends in the Situation of Confirmed/Cleared Robbery Offenses (1999-2008)

## 3 ) Arson

In 2008 the number of confirmed cases of arson, clearances and arrests all decreased from last year. The clearance rate in 2008 was 74.0%, a 0.3 point increase

compared to the previous year.