[February 25, 2009] Cyber-crime cases hit record high in Japan in 2008+ Tweet (Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) TOKYO, Feb. 26_(Kyodo) _ The police across Japan uncovered 6,321 cases of Internet-related or cyber crime in 2008, up 15.5 percent from the previous year and the highest number since comparable data became available in 2000, a National Police Agency survey showed Thursday. The figure represented a threefold jump from 2,081 cases recorded in 2004. There were 112 cases of threats made over the Internet during the reporting year, up 53 from the preceding year, the NPA said. Among such cases was that of a woman referred to prosecutors in connection with posts she made on a comedian's blog. The comedian was forced to close his blog due to a flood of abusive messages from other Net users. Libel cases involving the Net came to 61, down 18. In 2008, the police were asked by the general public to look into a record 11,516 potential libel cases, up 29.8 percent from the previous year. The police unearthed 1,740 cases of illegal access involving the use of stolen passwords, up 20.7 percent. The cases involved 137 persons, up 11. Fraud cases mainly involving Internet auctions inched down 0.3 percent to 1,508. Offences against a law restricting Net-based dating services jumped three times to 367 while offences against an ordinance aimed at protecting youths soared 90.0 percent to 437. The police across the nation were asked by the general public to check up on 81,994 potential cyber crimes in 2008, up 12.0 percent. An NPA official said the agency will step up its efforts to crack down on cyber crime by boosting its investigative ability in light of increasing offenses using the Internet. Copyright ? 2009 Kyodo News International, Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]