# Special Feature I: “Countermeasures against Threats in Cyberspace” Special Feature II: “Police Activities and Children, Women and the Elderly”

On the Special Features

Regarding the state of public safety in Japan, when looking at the number of confirmed criminal cases, the figure for 2012 dropped below 1.4 million for the first time in 32 years since 1980 to 1,382,121, a decrease to less than half the record post-war number of 2,853,739 in 2002, indicating a steady improvement. However, public opinion surveys, etc. have revealed that citizens are still anxious about public safety.

This anxiety stems from a spate of crimes in which the victims are children, women or the elderly, with increasing trends in the number of cases of child abuse, stalking and spousal violence, as well as specialized fraud cases that involve substantial amounts in total lost funds.

In addition, if we turn our attention to cyberspace, there has been a spate of cybercrimes, with successive cases of cyber-attacks and other incidents, and the threat to public safety is escalating.

And, due to the heightened frequency and threat of these crimes, citizens still remain anxious about public safety regardless of the reduction in the number of confirmed criminal cases. Consequently, in view of these circumstances, two Special Features have been included in this year’s White Paper on Police.

The first of these is “Countermeasures against Threats in Cyberspace”. From services used by individuals, such as online banking and community sites, up to important systems that support the backbone of the state, such as critical infrastructures (financial institutions, public transportation systems, etc.) and government agencies, the lifestyles and economic activities of today’s citizens cannot be described without mentioning cyberspace. However, as well as the frequent occurrence of cybercrimes such as online banking frauds, there have also been successive cyber-attacks against government agencies and other organizations involving the defacement of websites, etc. and these threats in cyberspace constitute issues that can threaten Japan’s public safety and national security, making cyberspace another new field alongside real-space in which the police should endeavour to ensure safety and security.

Consequently, in this year’s White Paper on Police, “Countermeasures against Threats in Cyberspace” has been taken up as the first Special Feature theme, with Section 1 providing an overview of the threats in cyberspace as they are today, Section 2 providing descriptions of approaches taken by the police and other organizations in relation to these threats, and Section 3 providing an indication of future approaches.

The second Special Feature covers “Police Activities and Children, Women and the Elderly”. As has already been stated, the total number of confirmed criminal cases is on a declining trend. However, when looking at individual types of crime, there is an increasing trend in the incidence of domestic cases involving child abuse, spousal violence and elder abuse. In addition, together with incidents such as the case of bullying at a junior high school in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture and the murder case in Zushi, Kanagawa Prefecture, attributed to emotional entanglements related to romantic attachment, both of which became the focus of significant attention in Japanese society, there have also been specialized fraud cases focusing on the elderly, in which substantial amounts of money have been lost. Dealing with crimes such as these, in which children, women and the elderly are the victims, is an important part of ensuring safety and security in the citizens’ everyday lives.

Consequently, “Police Activities and Children, Women and the Elderly” was taken up as the second Special Feature theme, with Section 1 covering citizens’ awareness of public safety, Sections 2 through 4 describing the approaches taken by police, etc. to ensure the safety and security of children, women and the elderly, and Section 5 outlining the comprehensive approaches taken to provide protection.

As with real-space, the realization of safety and security in cyberspace cannot be achieved by the police alone, and requires an approach that involves society as a whole. We hope that these two Special Features will contribute to citizens' continued understanding and cooperation in relation to the approaches taken by the police, and to their considerations on measures to ensure public safety for society as a whole.