Sexual Abuse Cases Involving Children With Disabilities in Japan Account for 1.0%, Raising Concerns That Many Cases Go Unreported

From Kyodo via 47 News

September 28 2026

TOKYO – The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Juvenile Development Division handled 468 sexual abuse cases last year, primarily involving victims under 20, and found that five victims, or 1.0 percent, had intellectual or mental disabilities, it was learned on Sept. 28 from interviews with the division.

Statistics from several sources estimate that at least 3 percent of people under 20 nationwide have similar disabilities. Although the figures cannot be directly compared, the proportion of detected cases involving victims with disabilities is lower than their estimated share of the population.

Police officials are concerned that some cases may go unreported because disabilities can make it difficult for victims to recognize another person’s actions as sexual violence. Experts are calling on the government to investigate the actual situation.

The Juvenile Development Division, which handles welfare-related crimes involving children, including child prostitution, compiled the figures, including cases reported by other police departments. Although the Civil Code was revised in 2022, the Juvenile Act continues to define anyone under 20 as a “juvenile.”

In 2025, disabilities were confirmed in five of the 468 cases, involving girls aged 15 to 16, including junior and senior high school students. In 2024, four of 495 cases, or 0.8 percent, involved victims with disabilities. They included males and females aged 14 to 17.

Chiaki Iwata, a lecturer in social welfare at Japan Women’s University, said Japan’s legal framework remains inadequate compared with some overseas systems, where penalties can be increased when victims have disabilities.

“The government should ascertain the actual situation and take measures to address it,” Iwata said.