TOKYO (AP) -- Reflecting an increase in the number of personal computer users and the popularity of the Internet, high-technology crimes in Japan rose 58 percent last year, police said Thursday.
The National Police Agency said there were 415 cases categorized as high-tech crimes in 1998, compared to 262 in 1997. Computer-related fraud included forging bank account data and reprogramming electromagnetic data.But actually breaking into a computer system is not a crime in Japan. Hackers are virtually free to peep at sensitive data stored in Japanese mainframes unless they destroy or sell any of it.
The National Police Agency is preparing a bill that will outlaw unauthorized access into computer systems. The agency is also trying to step up a computer training system for police.
There were 32 computer-related crimes reported in 1993, when the agency began taking statistics on high-tech crimes.