A Times of India report states that the first half of 2015 has seen the highest number of children under 18 become victims of child pornography in Japan, according to a police report released on Thursday.
The National Police agency’s preliminary report recorded action taken against 659 individuals in 831 cases over the production and distribution of child pornography. Both numbers are higher than last year’s, and the highest since 2000.
A revised law was introduced to ban child pornography in June last year. The production of child pornography has been punished thereafter using spy cameras. Beginning July this year, possession of pornographic images is also punishable by law. A one-year moratorium had been put in place in order to give individuals who had such images time to dispose them off.
The latest report showed roughly 90 per cent of all victims were female. 31 per cent of the total were victims of rape or molestation. The report also mentioned that the youngest victim was an 8-month-old boy who was photographed by a male baby-sitter.
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