There were 2,790,136 criminal cases recognized by police last year while the number of suspects arrested or questioned increased 9.4 percent to 648,319.

But serious crime was up 7.5 percent, prompting the agency to characterize public safety as a serious problem.

The proportion of cases in which arrests were made or cases were turned over to prosecutors stood at 23.2 percent, up 2.4 percentage points, the NPA said in a report.

The drop in the overall number of cases was attributed to fewer street crimes, including a 12.4 percent drop in purse-snatchings and a 22 percent decrease in motorbike thefts, according to the document.

As for serious crime, murders jumped 4 percent to 1,452 cases. Bank or street robberies increased by 9.7 percent to 7,664 while arsons rose 13.1 percent to 2,070.

Robberies of houses or shops were up 27.6 percent.

The Japan Times Weekly: Jan. 24, 2004
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