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[TOKYO, 8 August 2008] - The number of child pornography cases uncovered in Japan soared 17.2 per cent from a year earlier to a record high in the first half of this year, police said this week. Police made arrests in 307 cases of production and distribution of pornography involving children aged below 18, the most for the first half of a year since comparable records began in 2000. The number of child victims identified by the police reached 165, also a record and up 36.4 per cent from a year earlier. The report did not give a reason for the surge although local media quoted police as saying that it was linked to the spread of digital media, which allow easy copying. The incidents identified by police are believed to be a fraction of the total in Japan, considered a major provider of child pornography. The United States and other developed countries have accused Japan of laxity in allowing child pornography. Lawmakers are reviewing the nation's 1999 child porn law to close a loophole allowing individual possession. The law bans production and sale of sexually arousing photos, videos and other materials involving children and their possession for commercial purposes or other distribution. But it does not cover individual possession. The police report also said 166 children fell victim to abuse in the first half, also a record and up 5.7 per cent from a year earlier. Twenty-nine children died after being abused, including a 16-year-old boy whose mother and step father had beaten him, tied up his hands and legs and poured cold water over him in January, police said. Further information
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