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The number of stalkers busted by police nationwide jumped to 1,028 in 2022, setting another record high, according to newly released national statistics.

Stalking cases where suspects were arrested for breaking criminal laws shot upward to 1,650, rising for the third consecutive year.

The anti-stalking law, which took effect in 2000, was revised in 2021 to expand the definition of offenses, such as using a GPS device or sending a letter for the purpose of following a person around.

The National Police Agency said there were 110 cases of the new offenses.

According to the agency’s latest data, 354 cases were home burglaries, while suspects made threats in 210 cases.

There was one murder case, in which a man in his 30s stabbed his former girlfriend and her male friend in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, in January last year. The man died after the incident and papers were sent to prosecutors.

But the number of consultations about stalking in 2022 was 19,131, down 3 percent from the previous year.

In 44.2 percent of the 19,131 cases, the assailant was in a relationship with the victim.

There were meanwhile 84,496 domestic violence consultations, up 1.8 percent from the previous year. That figure topped records for the 19th year straight.

While 73.1 percent of the victims in these domestic violence cases were female, the number of male victims has increased every year. That figure was 26.9 percent in 2022.

Police across Japan dealt with 8,581 domestic violence cases, many of which were assaults and inflicting injuries.

The NPA said prefectural public safety commissions issued 1,744 restraining orders in 2022, with more than half being emergencies.

A senior NPA official said more than 90 percent of the assailants who received a restraining order stopped their stalking.

“The system is working,” the official said.

But there were those who did not comply with the order and instead doubled down on their stalking behavior.

Authorities encouraged 1,149 people to seek treatment or counseling last year--a figure that only increases every year.

But it is up to the individual to decide if they will take the advice. And only 153 of them actually received treatment or counseling services.

Nine of the 153, or 5.9 percent, continued stalking and received another warning or restraining order within the same year.

There were 996 people who were encouraged to receive treatment or counseling but ignored the advice, and 35 of them, or 3.5 percent, received another warning or order within the same year.

(This article was written by Hidemasa Yoshizawa and senior staff writer Shimpachi Yoshida.)

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