2) Measures to Protect Children from Crime

### a. Safety Measures around Schools and Commute routes

In order to prevent in advance the cases where children are victimized and enable a safe commute to and from school, the Police have cooperated with schools to promote the security of children at schools and commute routes by strengthening the patrol during commute times for routes to and from school, as well as actively commissioning retired police officers as school supporters (Refer to P.94) at schools.

### b. Promoting Education to Prevent Victimization

To improve the ability to foresee and avoid the dangers of children being involved in crimes, kindergartens, day care centers, and elementary schools are enabling children to participate and experience crime prevention classes with the cooperation of schools and the board of education. These classes consist of programs such as picture storytelling, plays, and role-playing. In addition, instructions are given to school staff on how to handle the situation in case suspicious individuals break in to school property.

### c. Promoting Information Transmission Activities

For information concerning cases where children were victimized, police stations, elementary schools, and the board of education have maintained an information sharing structure to enable prompt information provision to children and their parents. Moreover, information is dispatched through the information provision system by way of the Prefectural Police websites and e-mail and proactively providing the local residents with information.

### d. Support for Volunteers

The police are providing support by giving out stickers and manuals to those who volunteered to notify the police and provide temporal protection to victimized children as the Home of Children Emergency Call 110. Moreover, voluntary crime prevention is being actively supported by carrying out joint patrols with crime prevention volunteer groups.

## 3 ) Promoting Activities by Juvenile and Woman Aegis Team

In order to strengthen efforts of protecting children and women from sex-related crimes, the police increased the number of police officers in the FY2009 budget and set up JWAT $ ^{1} $ in police headquarters nationwide, exclusively working on measures such as clearance, guidance and warning (preemptive/preventive activities) by identifying perpetrators at the point of contact or during stalking, which are considered to be signs of sex-related crimes.

In addition to traditional clearance/preventive activities, the police are striving to prevent sex-related crimes targeting children and women by proactively promoting preemptive and preventive activities.

## Note 1: Juvenile and Woman Aegis Team

## (2) Crimes Detrimental to Youth Welfare

The police are cracking down on offenses detrimental to juvenile welfare that have harmful effects on their physical or psychological well-being (referred to as the Welfare Offense $ ^{1} $ ), such as forcing children to perform sexual acts, and are working to identify and protect the juvenile victims of such offenses.

In addition, in order to enhance crackdowns on child prostitution and child pornography offenses that Japanese nationals committed abroad, and cooperation in international investigations, the NPA has been hosting the Seminar and Investigators Conference on Child Prostitution/Commercial Sexual Exploitation in Southeast Asia, inviting investigative authorities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from Southeast Asian countries to exchange opinions on countermeasures against Child Prostitution/Commercial Sexual Exploitation (CSEC) every year since 2002. In November 2009, the 8th meeting was held.

Diagram 1-45 The Number of Persons Arrested by Violation of Welfare Act by Ordinance (2009)