Photo/Illutration The Ibaraki prefectural assembly on Nov. 16 approves an ordinance to “eradicate sex crime in the prefecture.” (Hiromichi Fujita)

MITO--The Ibaraki prefectural assembly on Nov. 16 adopted an ordinance that requires child-sex offenders to be listed in a special register.

It is the third such ordinance in Japan, following ones approved in Osaka and Fukuoka prefectures, Ibaraki officials said.

But unlike the Osaka and Fukuoka ordinances, the Ibaraki one carries no penalties for noncompliance.

The ordinance is intended to prevent recidivism and to help in the treatment and rehabilitation of former convicts, Ibaraki officials said.

It targets those convicted of rape and other carnal abuses against children under 18 years old.

If they live in the prefecture within five years of their release from prison, they will be required to report to the governor their names, addresses, contact information and the criminal charges for which they were convicted.

The proposal was submitted by the Liberal Democratic Party’s parliamentary group in the prefectural assembly.

Kunikazu Ishii, policy chief of the LDP’s Ibaraki prefectural chapter, said reporting such information to the governor will be “mandatory.”

However, penalties for noncompliance, including an administrative fine of 50,000 yen ($358) proposed in August, were dropped from the ordinance after concerns were raised about human rights violations.

“There was an opinion concerning the issue of human rights, and there was an opinion that the administrative penalties of Osaka and Fukuoka prefectures lack viability,” said Koji Hoshida, an Ibaraki prefectural assembly member who led the process of adopting the ordinance.

He said the assembly wants to focus more on treatment and preventing repeat offenses.

“It is important to have as many former convicts as possible receive support and to keep them from reoffending,” Hoshida said.

A stipulation in the ordinance says the governor will not use information in the register for anything other than its intended purpose.

According to the LDP prefectural chapter, about 20 citizens submitted opinions about the initial proposal.

Some approved the proposal because it included “support for offenders to keep them from reoffending.”

But others said the proposed ordinance “will violate the privacy of the former convicts.”

The Ibaraki Bar Association in August released a statement opposing the proposal.

A criminal record directly affects a person’s honor and trust, the association said, and the ordinance could result in infringements upon a person’s legally protected interests if their previous criminal record is made public without good reason.

In Osaka and Fukuoka prefectures, former convicts who do not register or submit false information face an administrative penalty of up to 50,000 yen.

The Osaka prefectural government has imposed the 50,000-yen penalty only once, in August 2021.

One former convict who did not register in Osaka Prefecture was arrested for a similar sex crime against a child.

In both Osaka and Fukuoka prefectures, support for former convicts has been described as insufficient.

The idea behind the ordinances is that former convicts who register can meet with prefectural officials to gain support in landing jobs and receive consultations about living expenses and other issues.

Osaka officials said 206 people registered their information from October 2012, when the ordinance was passed, to September 2022.

Of the 206, 75, or about 40 percent, asked for help, such as counseling.

In Fukuoka Prefecture, only 19 people registered between May 2020 and March 2022.

Hiroki Fukui, a psychiatrist who heads the Sex Offenders Medical Center, was involved in the ordinance-making processes in both Osaka and Fukuoka prefectures.

He said that more sex offenders would register if the governments offered complete support programs, such as providing subsidies for their treatment and finding employment for them.

“The number of people who have registered is low, and support has not been provided to the people who need it,” Fukui said.

He said the prefectures should design the registration systems so that ex-cons will view them as beneficial, not just a way to monitor them.

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