Main contents start here
CHAPTER 28 JUSTICE AND POLICE
This chapter contains statistics on crime cases known to police, arrests, prosecutions, court trials, corrections and protections, civil cases, administrative cases, domestic cases, juvenile cases, and infringements upon civil liberties, and registrations. The sources of data are "Criminal Statistics" compiled by the National Police Agency, "Annual Report of Statistics on Prosecution" by the Ministry of Justice, "Annual Report of Judicial Statistics" by the Supreme Court, and "Annual Report of Statistics on Correction", "Annual Report of Statistics on Rehabilitation" and "Annual Report of Statistics on Civil Affairs, Litigation and Civil Liberties" by the Ministry of Justice.
Criminal Statistics
Data are collected monthly by the National Police Agency as to crime cases known to the police, arrests, cases cleared up, etc., based on the reports submitted by the prefectural police headquarters in accordance with the Regulations on Criminal Statistics, etc. The statistics presented in this Yearbook are obtained from "Criminal Statistics" compiled annually by the said Agency.
Crimes are classified either as Penal Code crimes or as special law crimes. The Penal Code crimes are offenses as set forth in "Penal Code", "Explosives Control Act", "Act Relating to Duel", "Act on Punishment of Physical Violence and Others", "Act on Prevention and Punishment of Robbery and Theft Act", "Act on Punishment of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft", "Act on Punishment of Use and Others of Molotov Cocktails", "Act on Punishment of Acts to Endanger Aviation", "Act on Punishment of Compulsion and Other Related Acts Committed by Those Having Taken Hostages", "Act on Special Measures concerning Prevention of Toxic Contamination of Food Distributed Through Marketing Channels", "Act on Prevention of Bodily Harm by Sarin and Similar Substances", "Act on Punishment of Organised Crimes and Control of Crime Proceeds", "Act on Punishment of Public Officials' Profiting by Exerting Influence" and "Act on Punishment of the Financing of Criminal Activities for the Purpose of Intimidation of the General Public and of Governments". The special law crimes refer to all offenses as set forth in other laws (including those stipulated by regulations) than the Penal Code and criminal laws listed above.
The number of cases is counted, in principle, on the basis of acts committed by a person under suspicion. In the event that several cases were committed by one person or several cases were committed by several persons, they are inclusively counted as one case if they meet the prescribed conditions. As for the number of persons, in the case where the same person committed several crimes or several persons committed several crimes, they are counted as one person or several persons respectively for the severest statutory penalty (for the principal crime, in case the statutory penalties are the same). Attempted crimes and preparation of crimes are included in the corresponding crimes, except for the preparation of homicide.
Cases known to the police
These refer to criminal cases for which the occurrence was recognised by the police.
Cases cleared up and arrestees
Penal Code crime cases cleared up by the police, and the suspects arrested.
Cases and persons referred
Special law crime cases and persons sent to the public prosecutor's office by the police.
Prosecution Statistics
Data relate to the acceptance and the disposal of criminal offence cases handled by the public prosecutor's offices and the personal information of suspects, etc. They are compiled annually (monthly for principal items) by the Ministry of Justice based on the report tables and the questionnaires collected from the public prosecutor's offices all over the country. The statistics presented in this Yearbook are obtained from "Annual Report of Statistics on Prosecution" compiled by the said Ministry.
Persons ordinarily received
Data refer to the number of persons related to the cases that were recognised or accepted directly by the public prosecutors and the cases that were sent (or forwarded) by judicial policemen (including special judicial policemen, inspectors of the National Tax Agency, and up to 1986, railway security officers) during the reference year. They represent persons newly received at the public prosecutor?s office, excluding persons related to the cases transferred from other public prosecutor's offices or family courts and the re-received cases. The re-received cases refer to those of the same offence received again after they had been disposed of as non-prosecution or suspension or after they had been dismissed in a trial or put in a trial outside the jurisdiction.
Judicial Statistics
Data relate to the acceptance and disposal of all judicial cases by courts concerning civil, criminal, family and juvenile cases and the details of disposed cases. They are compiled every year by the Supreme Court based on the statistical reports collected from all the courts in the country. The statistics presented in this Yearbook are obtained from "Annual Report of Judicial Statistics" compiled by the Supreme Court.
Civil and administrative cases
Data refer to the number of litigation cases, conciliation cases, appeals, executions, etc., handled by the Supreme Court, high courts, district courts and summary courts. The litigation cases comprise cases concerning litigations in the first instance, appeals to the second instance, appeals to the third instance, retrial (litigation), filing of appeal to the second instance, filing of appeal to the third instance, and petitions for acceptance of appeal to the third instance.
Criminal cases
Data refer to the number of defendants in the litigation and other cases such as complaints, claims for criminal indemnity and unclassifiable criminal cases, etc., handled by the Supreme Court, high courts, district courts and summary courts, and summary trial cases handled by summary courts. The litigation cases comprise; (a) appeals, re-appeals and extraordinary appeals to the third instance at the Supreme Court, (b) appeals to the second instance, cases in the first instance based on the special competence and re-trials at high courts, (c) ordinary cases in the first instance and re-trials at district courts, and (d) ordinary cases in the first instance, summary trial cases and re-trials. The cases in the first instance include cases to be processed in the normal trial procedure and summary cases, and the ordinary cases in the first instance refer to the cases to be processed in the normal trial procedure.
Domestic cases
Data refer to the number of determination cases, conciliation cases, litigation cases and miscellaneous cases including performance advice and order, handled by the family courts. The determination cases comprise those in Appended Table 1 and Appended Table 2 of the Domestic Relations Case Procedure Act; and the conciliation cases comprise those in Appended Table 2 and those other than Appended Table 2 of the Act. In the Appended Table 2 conciliation cases, either determination or conciliation may be pleaded. The case that was pleaded as determination at the beginning may be referred to conciliation, while the case pleaded as conciliation is switched to determination if it proved to be unsuccessful.
Juvenile cases
Data refer to the number of juveniles involved in juvenile protection cases, quasi-juvenile protection cases, criminal offences committed by adults against minors, and other cases including joint juvenile affairs inquiries, unclassifiable juvenile affairs inquiries, etc., handled by the family courts. The quasi-juvenile cases refer to the recommitment of a juvenile to the reform and training school from which he has been released on parole, the continuation of custody and the revocation of educative measures. The criminal offences committed by adults against minors refer to the adults in violation of the Act on Prohibition of Smoking by Minors, Minor Drinking Prohibition Act, Labour Standards Act, the Child Welfare Act, etc.
Statistics on Correction and Statistics on Correction of Juvenile Delinquents
Statistics on correction and statistics on correction of juvenile delinquents which relate to inmates in prisons, juvenile prisons, detention houses, juvenile reform and training schools, juvenile classification homes and women's guidance home, are compiled annually (monthly for principal items) by the Ministry of Justice, based on the report tables and the questionnaires collected from the institutions concerned all over the country. The statistics presented in this Yearbook are obtained from "Annual Report of Statistics on Correction" compiled by the said Ministry.
New convicts
New convicts refer to the inmates whose judgements were delivered and newly entered the institution during the reference period to serve the sentence, the inmates whose death penalties were executed during the reference period and inmates who were transferred on the basis of the Act on the Transnational Transfer of Sentenced Persons.
Juvenile convicts
Juvenile convicts refer to the inmates detained penal institutions under the provision of the paragraph (1) and (2) of Article 56 of the Juvenile Act and inmates admitted in reform and training school under the provision of the paragraph (3) of Article 56 of the Juvenile Act.
Statistics on Rehabilitation
Statistics on rehabilitation which relate to the rehabilitation and protection of the released offenders and juvenile delinquents handled by the National Offenders Rehabilitation Commission, district boards of rehabilitation and by probation offices based on the Offenders Rehabilitation Act (up to May 2008, Act on Protection and Rehabilitation of Offenders) and the Act on Probationary Supervision of Persons under Suspension of Execution of Sentence, etc. are compiled annually (monthly for principal items) by the Ministry of Justice based on the report tables and questionnaires collected from the said boards and offices. The statistics presented in this Yearbook on the rehabilitation and protection in the probation offices are obtained from "Annual Report of Statistics on Rehabilitation" compiled by the said Ministry.
Category No.1
Protective observations for persons probated by the decision of family court.
Category No.2
Protective observations for parolees released from the reform and training schools by the decision of the board.
Category No.3
Protective observations for parolees released from prisons by the decision of the board.
Category No.4
Protective observations for persons who were sentenced to suspension of execution and placed under probation.
Statistics on Infringement on Human Rights
Data relate to suspected cases where civil liberties were infringed, which were handled by the Legal Affairs Bureaus, District Legal Affairs Bureaus and their branch offices all over the country under the Regulations on Investigation and Disposal of Infringement Affairs upon Civil Liberties, and are compiled monthly by the Ministry of Justice based on the report tables submitted by all the Legal Affairs Bureaus. The statistics presented in this Yearbook are obtained from "Annual Report of Statistics on Civil Affairs, Litigation and Civil Liberties" compiled by the said Ministry.
Statistics on Registration
Statistics on registration relate to registrations handled by the Legal Affairs Bureaus and the District Legal Affairs Bureaus all over the country, and are compiled monthly by the Ministry of Justice. They consist of statistics concerning the cases (Registration A) which require entry in the register and statistics concerning the business (Registration B) on disclosing the register to the public. The statistics presented in this Yearbook are those on Registration A, and are obtained from "Annual Report of Statistics on Civil Affairs, Litigation and Civil Liberties" compiled by the said Ministry. Registered cases in this registration are counted in the number of lots for land; the number of structures for buildings; the number of groups for standing trees; the number of vessels for boats and ships; and in the number of credit for credit transfers.
