Osaka #1 in sexual assaults

It’s official! Osaka prefecture has been declared the sexual assault capital of Japan according to statistics maintained by Japan’s National Police Agency.

According to the data, last year one in every 4,200 female residents of Osaka was raped or otherwise sexually assaulted. This compares to one in every 4,600 in Tokyo.

The Osaka rate is double that of Kanagawa Prefecture, which has a similar number of female residents, and nearly five times that of Yamagata Prefecture, which is the safest prefecture for women in Japan.

According to the police, many victims of rape or other sexual assault last year lived alone in apartments. Most of them were attacked from behind soon after opening the door of their apartment. Some offenders managed to enter buildings equipped with auto-lock systems by waiting for a resident to open the door, and then hid in stairwells until they found a target.

Many victims also were attacked on the street while talking on their cell phone, an activity police said can give people a false sense of security about their personal safety.

“People let their guard down when they are on their way home, or talking to people [who they feel close to]. It’s the most dangerous moment,” a police officer said.

So what steps has Osaka taken to deal with the situation? Well, the prefectural police force has assigned two full-time female police officers to a telephone consultation service called Woman Line.

Feel any safer?

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