A rush is on in this country at both the national and local levels to enact new laws and regulations aimed at controlling stalking. Where once it seemed that young women -- the usual but not the exclusive victims of this activity -- were expected to endure the terrifying harassment in silence, lawmakers and local officials now are vying to introduce new legal restrictions to prohibit it and punish offenders. Both houses of the Diet, local prefectural and municipal assemblies and regional police departments are all getting into the act.

The reason, of course, lies in recent high-profile cases, including some in which the victims were murdered by their tormentors despite their earlier pleas for police intervention and assistance. Public fears are hardly eased when the tabloid press and daytime television's "wide shows" (so called because of the extensive range of topics they cover) probe every possible detail of these reprehensible acts for audiences that seem unable to receive their fill of the latest crime sensation. Stalkers have also been prominently featured in so-called "trendy" TV dramas.

Stalking ostensibly is regulated by the national Minor Offenses Act, but the penalties imposed are light and ineffective. The police have always required actual proof that an assault or threatening behavior has occurred. So the Diet has just passed antistalking legislation intended to correct those faults, and it appears to have some teeth in it.