Victims of child porn double in Jan.-June

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The number of child pornography victims under 18 who were identified by Japanese police in January-June doubled from a year before to 781, hitting the highest level since records began in 2000, National Police Agency data showed Thursday.

The surge came as many junior high school girls fell victim to secret filming in a few cases.

As the data covered only child porn victims detected and identified by police, the actual number is believed to be higher.

The data showed that 338 were filmed secretly. Of them, a total of 280 were targeted in three cases, including at bathrooms during school trips.

The number of victims who were deceived or threatened to take and release their nude photos increased 81 to 239. Of them, 80 percent sent their selfies to people whom they know only through social networking sites.

An official of the NPA said that in some cases, victims sent their own photos without realizing that such pictures cannot be withdrawn. The NPA is urging citizens to avoid taking nude selfies without careful consideration.