Japan records over 22,000 stalking reports in 2025, highest since 2020

According to a survey by one outlet Police Agency, Japan received 22,881 stalking consultations in 2025, representing a 16.9% increase over the previous year and the first time the total has risen above 20,000 since 2020. prosecutions under the Anti-Stalking Act rose 15.3% to 1,546, setting a fourth-year record, and police issued 1,577 formal warnings and 3,037 prohibition orders. Criminal cases linked to stalking grew 24.6% to 2,171, with trespassing (437 cases) leading the charge list, followed by intimidation, assault and bodily injury.

Women accounted for 86.9% of victims, while 80.1% of perpetrators were men; victims were typically aged from teens to forties, and perpetrators from their twenties to fifties. About 40% of offenders were current or former partners, with friends, acquaintances and colleagues comprising the next most common relationships.