Japan Govt Maps Out New Steps to Support Crime Victims

Tokyo, March 17 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government adopted a new five-year plan Tuesday to support crime victims and bereaved families, featuring measures to allow them to receive support more smoothly and in ways that reduce their psychological burden.

In the new basic plan, the fifth of its kind, the government cited five priority issues after reviewing the past four plans spanning 20 years--damage recovery and economic assistance, recovery from and prevention of physical and mental harm, increasing involvement in criminal procedures, improving support systems and enhancing public understanding.

Based on interviews with victims and support groups, the government came up with 307 measures for the new basic plan, which starts in fiscal 2026, up by 28 from the current plan, expiring this month.

Specifically, the government will introduce a victim’s handbook that records details, such as how they were harmed and what support they have received, so that victims do not have to explain their stories over and over again, thus reducing their psychological burden when receiving support.

The basic plan also calls for keeping records of the support process for each victim to allow information to be shared among various institutions.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]