YOMIURI — Jan 17
— The (Japanese) National Police Agency (NPA) wants stricter
regulations as current law regulating Internet dating services is being
ignored. The
law (enacted September 2003) prohibits minors under 18 from such
actions as posting
messages on the sites that can be interpreted as soliciting to have
paid sex. According to the NPA, there are about 5,000 dating sites on
the Internet. The number of young people under 18 who were
victims of sex crimes in connection with dating service sites in 2006
increased to 1,153, up 92 people from the prior year. 95% of the
victims accessed the sites via cell phones.
