Police dealt with 94 child abuse cases nationwide during the first half of this year, 33 more than in the corresponding period of last year, the National Police Agency said Friday.
Of the 94 victims, 20 died as a result of the abuse.
The fatal cases included one involving a 2-year-old boy in Ibaraki, Osaka Prefecture, who died of an organ rupture in May after his 28-year-old mother pressed his stomach against the corner of a step. The mother became angry after seeing her son having trouble climbing the stairs by himself, agency officials said.
Of the 94 abused children, 15 were babies under 1, the largest single age group. Children who were 6 or younger accounted for 52, about 55 percent.
Most of the cases involved violence. The cases also included those in which girls were raped or molested by their mothers' boyfriends who lived with them.
Police arrested or sent papers to prosecutors on 103 child abusers between January and June this year, up 40 from the corresponding period last year.
The 103 assailants include 31 who were the victims' real mothers, followed by 30 real fathers and 22 men who were boyfriends of the victims' mothers and living with them.
According to the agency, many assailants told police investigators they had committed the abusive acts because the children did not do what they wanted, or they intended the abusive acts to be a form of discipline.