The Justice Ministry urged the government Friday to step up efforts to combat economic crimes, pointing to numerous "uncertain elements" in the unpredictable and still-fragile economic recovery that may make such crimes easier to perpetrate.
The 2000 white paper on crime says Japan needs to come up with various criminal and judicial policy measures to cope with increasing economic crimes.
For the first time, the annual white paper set aside an entire chapter to the issue, a reflection of growing public concern about economic crimes -- particularly prevalent since the asset-inflated bubble economy burst in the early 1990s.