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The number of crimes in Japan surged by 17 percent to 703,351 in 2023, marking the second straight year of increase and pushing the figure closer to pre-pandemic levels, National Police Agency statistics showed.

“We will keep a careful eye on future trends before determining if the crime situation is worsening,” an NPA official said Feb. 8.

Street crimes, such as theft of bicycles and motorcycles, jumped by 21 percent to 243,987 cases in 2023, while there was a 19.1-percent increase in breaking and entering into homes. Most of those break-ins occurred at vacant homes. 

Major crimes, such as murder, increased by 29.8 percent.

The number of human trafficking and kidnapping cases soared by 34.9 percent, and about 20 percent of the human trafficking cases involved the use of phone and messaging apps, the NPA said.

The use of such apps increased 1.6-fold over the previous year.

Enactment of the revised Criminal Law in July 2023 expanded the definition of “nonconsensual sex.”

Since July, there have been on average 295 such cases every month, much higher than the average of 157 until June.

An NPA official said the increase was likely due to the greater ease with which victims could consult police.

In addition to crimes recorded by police, the NPA for the first time released the monetary amount taken in theft and other crimes targeting assets.

The total figure came to about 251.9 billion yen ($1.7 billion), an increase of 56.7 percent over the previous year.

About 60 percent of that amount, or 162.6 billion yen, was lost in various scams, up by 85.4 percent over 2022.

The average amount taken in individual scams increased as more of the schemes involved the use of the internet, the NPA said.

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