The National Police Agency (NPA) is considering amendments to Japan’s Stalker Regulation Act. The proposed changes would enable officers to issue warnings to suspected stalkers without requiring victims to file requests first. The aim is faster intervention to prevent harassment from escalating into violence.
Currently, the law requires a victim’s request before police can issue a warning. While warnings sometimes stop harassment, many victims hesitate to come forward. Fear of retaliation or a lack of awareness of danger often prevents them from reporting. This hesitation leaves police unable to act until it’s too late.
The NPA now seeks a system that empowers officers to issue warnings on their own judgment when clear risks exist. Restraining orders, which are stronger sanctions, already exist under police authority. However, those orders require time to gather evidence. Officials argue the proposed measure would fill the gap between inaction and restraining orders, helping prevent serious harm.
Recent high-profile case spurs debate on stalking reforms
A recent case in Kawasaki City has intensified demands for stronger stalking laws. A 20-year-old woman repeatedly reported harassment by her ex-boyfriend. She filed a complaint in September but later withdrew it, reportedly fearing retaliation.
In the twelve days before her disappearance, she contacted police nine times. Despite her pleas, police issued neither a warning nor a restraining order.
On April 30, officers found her decomposed body inside the ex-partner’s home. The suspect, now indicted, allegedly continued stalking her until her death.
The case has drawn widespread criticism of police procedures and revived painful memories of the infamous Okegawa stalking murder 26 years ago, which led to the creation of the Stalker Regulation Act. Victim advocates argue that despite repeated legislative changes, authorities remain overly cautious about issuing warnings and restraining orders, especially when victims hesitate to press charges.
Another high-profile stalking murder in 2023 also reignited debate over the need for stronger protections. In another recent case, the ex-husband of a snack bar owner murdered her after he was released from jail.
Together, these incidents have intensified calls for reforms that would allow police to act more proactively, even without a direct request from victims, to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
Rising cases, fewer warnings
Stalking complaints remain high nationwide. Police handled 19,567 consultations and reports in 2024, only a slight decline from the previous year. Warnings, however, have steadily decreased: 1,868 in 2022, 1,534 in 2023, and 1,479 in 2024.
Arrests and restraining orders have also been on the rise. In 2024, authorities arrested 1,341 suspects in stalking cases, the highest number since the 2016 legal revision. Courts issued 2,415 restraining orders, the most ever recorded, many of them emergency measures intended to stop harassment immediately.
Under the 2016 amendment, police gained the ability to issue restraining orders without first issuing a warning. However, because these orders are considered a heavy administrative sanction, they often require time for evidence collection. To address this gap, the National Police Agency now seeks to give officers greater authority to issue warnings swiftly when they judge that a case could escalate, thereby strengthening early intervention and preventing serious harm.
Consultations about location tracking through smartphone applications have sharply increased, including 370 cases in which loss prevention tags were secretly attached to victims’ belongings to monitor their movements. The growing misuse of these devices, which connect to smartphones to display location, has prompted the National Police Agency to consider new legal reforms.
Abuse of tracking devices
Complaints involving location tracking through smartphone applications have surged, particularly in cases where a suspect secretly attached a loss prevention tag to a person’s belongings to monitor their movements. Other common methods include installing an app on a victim’s smartphone without consent to obtain location data, or placing a GPS device on a victim’s car, sometimes by giving them an item embedded with such a device.
In response to these evolving tactics, Japan has steadily expanded the scope of its anti-stalking laws. The August 2021 revision broadened the definition of prohibited acts to address new forms of harassment.
The changes made it illegal to install GPS devices or tracking apps without consent, to monitor or loiter near places where a victim is actually present rather than only their usual locations, and to repeatedly send letters after being told to stop. These updates reflected the growing misuse of digital tools and persistent harassment tactics, laying important groundwork for further reforms now under consideration.
The proposed 2025 reforms also aim to regulate the misuse of loss prevention tags. These small devices connect to smartphones through wireless communication and are designed to help users locate wallets, bags, and other belongings.
Increasingly, however, they have been exploited for stalking purposes. Since their widespread introduction around 2021, reports of unauthorized use, such as secretly attaching tags to someone’s possessions, have risen sharply, climbing from 113 cases in 2022 to 370 in 2024, nearly tripling in just two years.
Challenge of handling offenders
One of the ongoing challenges in combating stalking is how to deal with offenders who have received restraining orders under the Stalker Regulation Act.
Data from the National Police Agency shows that in 2024, authorities urged 3,271 such individuals to undergo psychiatric treatment or counseling. However, only 184, or about five percent, followed through with ongoing care. Nearly 90 percent, totaling 2,954 people, refused to participate.
Police sources note that many offenders do not recognize their own behavior as problematic or cite the financial burden of counseling and treatment as reasons for refusal. This lack of self-awareness aligns with international studies indicating that some stalkers fail to realize they are perpetrators.
Among those approached, 168 individuals went on to repeat stalking behaviors despite intervention efforts. To counter this risk, police continue to call all offenders under restraining orders, encouraging counseling where possible and carefully monitoring for early signs of reoffending.
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Sources
ストーカーへの警告に被害申告不要、規制法改正へ…対応を迅速化し事態のエスカレート防ぐ. 読売新聞
ストーカー被害 申告なくても「警告」 法改正検討 警察庁. NHK
＜1分で解説＞「紛失防止タグ」悪用も規制対象に 法改正を検討. 毎日新聞
去年 ストーカーの「禁止命令」約2400件 過去最多に 警察庁. NHK
ストーカーは犯罪です！ 被害を受けたらすぐ警察に相談を. 政府広報オンライン
