Share of repeaters among Penal Code offenders Japan 1972-2022
In 2022, close to 48 percent of the people cleared for Penal Code offenses in Japan were repeaters. The rate of repeat offenders has increased steadily since its post-war low-point in 1996 of 27.7 percent, and only started to flatten out a little around the 48.7 percent mark in 2016.
Repeaters refer to the apprehended offenders who were previously arrested for other criminal cases, excluding traffic-related offenses.