Japan Stalking Consultations Top 22,000 in 2025
Japanese police reported receiving more than 22,000 consultations concerning stalking in 2025, a year that also saw a record number of recorded violations of the Anti-Stalking Act.
In 2025, Japan saw a significant rise in consultations regarding stalking, with police receiving 22,881 reports, marking a 16.9% increase from the previous year. This is the first time since 2020 that the figure has surpassed 20,000. The number of cases prosecuted under the Anti-Stalking Act saw a 15.3% rise, reaching 1,546, the highest in four consecutive years.
This Act was introduced in 2000 following a tragic incident in Okegawa, Saitama Prefecture. Upon receiving a victim's request, police can impose administrative measures, such as formal warnings and prohibition orders against the perpetrator. Violating these orders can lead to criminal penalties, and some offenders are arrested for additional offenses like assault or trespassing.
In 2025, police issued 1,577 warnings (a 6.6% increase) and 3,037 prohibition orders (an 25.8% increase). Cases involving stalking under the penal code or other special laws rose by 24.6% to 2,171, breaking the 2,000 mark for the first time. By charge, trespassing was the most common offense, followed by intimidation, assault, bodily injury, and indecent assault.
Murder charges were rare, with 2 cases, while attempted murder was even less common, with 14 instances. According to the National Police Agency, 86.9% of the victims were women, while 13.1% were men. Most perpetrators were men, comprising 80.1%, with 12.3% being women, and 7.6% had unknown genders. The primary age group for both victims and perpetrators was in their twenties to forties.
In about 40% of cases, the perpetrator was a current or former romantic partner, followed by friends or acquaintances, and then coworkers.
Written by urgent.news from Nippon.com's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
