Cybercrime in Japan - statistics & facts
The growing relevance of digital technologies for the economy as well as people鈥檚 daily lives, which includes areas such as cashless payment methods, digital health services, and remote work, has made cybercrimes an important topic in Japan. In 2020, cyberbullying became a major societal issue due to the suicide of Hana Kimura, a female professional wrestler who had also appeared on a reality television series. In 2021 and 2022, the police recorded an increase of ransomware attacks aimed at businesses. In 2023, a surge in online banking frauds was detected, with the amount of money lost due to online banking frauds climbing to over 8.7 billion Japanese yen. As a breakdown of the number of cleared cybercrime cases shows, common offenses include issues such as frauds, violations of the laws against child prostitution and child pornography, and the targeting of computers or electromagnetic records.
