Police told of 1,143 ‘revenge porn’ cases

9:45 pm, March 17, 2016
Jiji Press

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The number of reports police received over “revenge porn” came to 1,143 in 2015, National Police Agency data showed Thursday.

Of the victims, 90 percent were women and nearly 20 percent were minors. They included those who were victimized after sending photographs or videos they took of themselves to someone they came to know via the Internet but never met in real life.

This was the first time that the agency has compiled annual data on revenge porn since Japan’s law against such acts entered into force in November 2014.

Revenge porn is an act of distributing on the Internet or through other means sexually explicit images or videos of former partners or friends without their consent. Under the law, offenders face a prison term of up to three years.

As revenge porn is sometimes a form of stalking behavior, the agency warned citizens against allowing their partners to take their photos or record their videos easily.

“If you are threatened by someone who says they have your photos or videos, you should immediately consult with the police,” an agency official said, stressing that it is extremely difficult to completely delete photos or videos once they are distributed over the Internet.

In 502 complaint cases, the victims received threats to disclose their photos or videos. In 343 cases, the victims complained their photos or videos had been taken or possessed by others.

Photos or videos were sent to the victims in 245 cases and disclosed in 188 cases.

Of the victims, 38 percent were in their 20s and 22.5 percent in their 30s. Minor victims accounted for 19.5 percent.

As many as 90 percent of the victimizers were men. Those in their 30s made up 23.1 percent and those in their 20s accounted for 22 percent.

Over 60 percent of those responsible for revenge porn-related acts were the victims’ partners or their former partners.