Police forces nationwide should know the addresses of people who served time for sex offenses against children, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Tuesday.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Justice Minister Chieko Noono is cautious toward the idea, however, saying it might infringe on the privacy of ex-convicts and hinder their social rehabilitation.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Koizumi's comment is expected to give further momentum to calls to introduce tougher measurers against sex offenders in the wake of the recent kidnap-murder of a 7-year-old girl in Nara by a man who had a record of sex crimes against small girls.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>'I think this –

is necessary," Koizumi told reporters at the Prime Minister's Official Residence in Tokyo.

"There would be problems if you let neighbors know (their addresses), but at least police should know them."

Kaoru Kobayashi, 36, who is under arrest and has confessed to kidnapping and murdering Kaede Ariyama in November, had been arrested in connection with several molestation attempts targeting young girls and had once served prison time for attempting to strangle a girl, according to reports.

The revelation that the suspect had a record has fueled calls for tougher measures to prevent repeat sex offenses.

Under the current system, police keep records of sex crimes but do not have information on ex-convicts' whereabouts once they leave prison.

National Policy Agency chief Iwao Urushima told a Jan. 6 news conference that an address database on freed sex offenders should be created and made available to police.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said later Tuesday that the government has no immediate plans to set up a panel to discuss the establishment of such a database, but said such crimes should first be compared with other crimes in terms of their gravity, noting that police do not necessarily have information on the whereabouts of former convicts who committed other serious crimes, including murders.