Tokyo, Oct. 31 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Justice Ministry is considering establishing a new crime of sexual grooming, or the practice of approaching children for the concealed purpose of sexually abusing them.   The idea is being discussed as sex crimes against children are becoming a social problem in Japan amid the spreading use of social media.   The envisaged new crime….Read more

On Oct. 7, the Public Security Bureau of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department rearrested Koyama Shogo (26 years old), a university student from Suita City, Osaka Prefecture, on suspicion of violating the Explosives Control Act (unauthorized manufacture), an investigation source revealed. He allegedly manufactured the gunpowder at his residence.   Koyama [was found to have gunpowder in his possession on….Read more

By YUJI MASUYAMA/ Staff Writer   Police have arrested six Japanese and Chinese nationals in connection with the alleged sale of counterfeit residence cards through foreign brokers.   A joint investigation team, comprising members of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and five prefectural police departments, announced on Sept. 29 it busted six people, aged 29 to 34, on suspicion of….Read more

Tokyo, Sept. 29 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s health ministry Thursday proposed criminalizing cannabis use as the country’s existing marijuana control law has no provision that punishes users.   The ministry also proposed lifting the ban on cannabis use for medical purposes.   The law currently bans possession, cultivation of cannabis plants and the use of medical products made from cannabis.   When….Read more

Mainichi, Sankei, and Yomiuri wrote that the Public Safety Bureau of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department arrested on Tuesday a 26-year-old student from Osaka who had in his possession about 160 grams of gunpowder on the street in front of the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on Aug. 8 on suspicion of violating the Explosives Control Law. The papers wrote that….Read more

KYOTO — Japan’s lack of a legal system that provides a concrete basis for punishing hate crime has been singled out by experts ahead of a court ruling over arson attacks on houses and other buildings associated with “Zainichi” Korean residents.   On Aug. 30, the Kyoto District Court will deliver its verdict on Shogo Arimoto, 23, a resident of….Read more

The Aichi Prefectural Police have uncovered a case in which a foreign national asked a Japanese man with whom the foreign national became acquainted through social media to forward a package containing drugs  by saying, “I want you to deliver relief goods to impoverished Japanese children.” Previously, foreign nationals often smuggled drugs into Japan by entrusting packages to Japanese nationals….Read more

A mutual legal assistance treaty between Japan and Vietnam to facilitate criminal investigations between the two countries will take effect on Aug. 31.   The accord is intended to enhance cooperation between Japanese and Vietnamese authorities, amid a rise in crimes committed by Vietnamese nationals in Japan.   Signed by representatives of both countries last November, the treaty was approved….Read more

TV Asahi, Fuji TV, Sankei, and Jiji reported online that a man who was questioned by police officers in front of the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo at around 9 p.m. on Monday was in possession of what appeared to be an explosive device containing gunpowder. According to reports, the man, who claimed to be a university student in his 20s….Read more