No. of kidnappings involving children under 13 exceeds 100 for first time in 9 years

What the court did for the kidnappers ....?????

Probably the same as with any offence to do with children. Warning and slap over the wrist. Maybe small fine.

And in the same year that child porn became illegal to possess.

Must a coincidence.

That GuyDec. 13, 2014 - 09:07AM JST And in the same year that child porn became illegal to possess. Must a coincidence.

You beat me to it. How odd though that this "coincidence" was precisely what research indicates happened in a half dozen countries where they implemented similar measures? Hmmm... is "coincidence" contagious?

Frungy, there is one nation where it worked the opposite: the imagination!

But people can cling very fiercely to what they believe and facts and rationality be damned. Nurturing hate seems to be more important to people sometimes. I said this would happen...and people hated me for it. They probably still expect me to apologize!

exceeds 100 for first time in 9 years

there were 194 kidnappings involving children between Jan 1 and Nov 30.

Not only it exceeded 100 for the first time in 9 years, it blew right past it to double in just a year

That GuyDec. 13, 2014 - 06:45PM JST But people can cling very fiercely to what they believe and facts and rationality be damned. Nurturing hate seems to be more important to people sometimes. I said this would happen...and people hated me for it. They probably still expect me to apologize!

The think that they don't seem to realise is that it isn't YOU saying this, you're just reporting the research. But shooting the messenger is way easier than swallowing a message that doesn't fit their world view.

What really gets me is that those people are accountable for the trauma and suffering of those children. But they'll never admit it. Instead they'll yell for harsher sentences (which has been shown to have zero or even a negative effect), or expanding the ban (which will also just make things worse).

Do I like it that kiddy porn exists? No. Do I like kids being kidnapped? Even less. Sometimes things aren't black and white, and if letting a pedophile get off to porn made in the 1970's in the privacy of their home keeps them off the streets then I'm all for it.

Of course I don't think we should just do that and shrug our shoulders. We should put in place free counseling programs to address the problem at its source, and help these people to control themselves BEFORE some kid is hurt. The research shows this WORKS!

... but that's too much like hard work and tolerance for people out there to wrap their head around the fact that pedophiles are sick and need treatment. It is far easier just to hate. ... and at the end of the day more kids get hurt and the intolerant wonder why? It boggles the mind.

Unfortunately most children are not prepared for the reality of dangerous strangers and usually trust unknown adults.To keep children safe they need to be taught that a stranger is any adult they do not know. Most molesters and abductors are normal looking people going out of there way to look friendly, safe, and appealing to children. So instead of judging them by appearance, we need to teach children to judge people by their actions. They should be taught about the common lures used by abductors. We should tell our children to always walk or play in groups and should always know where our children are going, even if they leave the house with another trusted adult. Although it's not possible to protect children from strangers all the time, practice screaming with your children and rehearse screaming at strangers by role-playing.

Overall another good post Frungy. But I have to warn you that commission of a crime is not proof of a mental disease. Bringing up pedophilia in this case is about as pertinent as bring up kleptomania on the topic of shoplifting. Clearly most shoplifters are not certifiable kleptomaniacs, and clearly even most people who kidnap children for sexual purposes are not certifiable pedophiles. A crime is not a psychoanalysis. The layman and legal definitions of pedophile are basically useless if you are trying to understand the psychology behind this crime. You cannot treat people for a disease they do not have. And that misunderstanding is the tip of the iceberg of why people think that banning possession of child porn will reduce kidnappings even though its precisely the opposite.

"The think that they don't seem to realise is that it isn't YOU saying this, you're just reporting the research."

If you know of any research that makes this phenomenon clear, I would like a link to it. My prediction that there would be a rise in kidnappings (and molestations, rapes and murders too) came from a more general knowledge. I can't say I remember anyone agreeing with me, much less seeing research backing me up on this specific point (outside of research indicating that adult porn reduces rapes).

I do not believe you are serious! There is no reputable research indicating adult porn reduces rapes!...And as for paedophiles only watching children being exploited in the 1970's.. where on earth did you get this bizarre idea?

Leonie DaviesDec. 14, 2014 - 04:02PM JST I do not believe you are serious! There is no reputable research indicating adult porn reduces rapes!

... You are mistaken. If you want proof of concept then look at Europe, where adult porn is freely available and rape rates are very low, the USA where the rape rate is higher in states where pornography is restricted, and finally fundamentalist Muslim countries where pornography is strictly prohibited and the rape rates are sky-high (where reliable figures can be obtained, because it is hugely under-reported since it is so common that it is barely viewed as a crime).

Connect the dots.

Connect the dots.

Correlation doesn't imply causation.

"where on earth did you get this bizarre idea?"

@Leonie Davies What I would like to know is what research you can name that proves the opposite. I mean, gee whiz, if you can waltz right up and declare the idea to be so "bizarre" then surely you have proof we are wrong rather than say, just a gut feeling.

BTW, Pornography, Rape, and the Internet by Todd D. Kendall, Clemson University 2006. You are free to read it, or just dismiss it without reading it at your leisure of course.

Or you might begin by reading feminist critiques of it. They will argue that rape is not about sex, but about power. The problem? As soon as you say "rape" to a female they immediately identify with the victim rather than the perp. Us guys here are talking about the perp, and for the perp, its about sex. That is why sex was mentioned as a motive in these kidnappings. Now, I am sure for the victim rape is not about sex at all. But again, we are talking about the motives of the perps, and sex is one, like it or not.

A quick search of the internet will reveal numerous studies both purporting to show a causal link between porn exposure and sexual assault (M Goldsmith, G Dines, DEH Russell), and those strongly suggesting that is not the case at all, (B. Kutchinsky).

Unfortunately people now are seizing on one study or the other to support their own personal views. I think its safe to say that there is still no confirmed link either way. For starters, just because child porn has been made illegal to possess in Japan, doesn't mean the individuals responsible for these crimes didn't still possess it. If they are willing to break the law by kidnapping and/or abusing a child, its not a huge leap to assume they wouldn't be that worried about breaking the law by possessing child porn.

As deviants will always exist in any society I agree that a first point of prevention should lie with the children and their main caregivers. How interesting that so many children in Japan were taken during that period that they are often seen young and unsupervised in parks after school.

I was also vilified (on another forum) for having the temerity to suggest that perhaps if the 6 year old found recently had not been out alone and unsupervised at 5.30 in the afternoon then maybe she wouldn't have been taken. But apparently I was being grossly unfair to the poor mother. Okaaaay then. Interesting that most of the people who said that were...surprise surprise....working mothers. Not saying they shouldn't work. I am a working mom myself. Just saying that perhaps they might consider something a little more secure than letting their kids run around the neighborhood unsupervised until they get home.

lostrune2: Not only it exceeded 100 for the first time in 9 years, it blew right past it to double in just a year

Likely it was 94 in 2013, 100 in 2014 (up to Nov. 30), not 194 in 2014, according to more-detailed report on another site.

So it went up by 6. Not double.

It is quite obvious even if there is a social correlation between porn availability and decreased rates of rape, this doesn't mean that use or creation of porn is moral. Lots of highly immoral activities may happen to correlate with or even cause decreases in other immoral activities, and the fact that one of these is immoral doesn't change the immoral status of the other. This attempt to associate porn with a decrease in rape is self-justifying behavior and those who make this claim are attempting to deflect attention from the fault using porn by associating this vice with a decrease in even worse exploitation and objectification of women, rape. Rape is simply a exploitative and personal form of violence directed against women which increase and decreases in society as the overall rate of violence increase and decreases. Crime statistics will show the incidence of rape to be highly correlated with those of other violent crimes. However at the moral level it is simply a extreme form of the desire to use and objectify others.

These are just the reported numbers, like with nearly all statistics coming out in the press here, provided by the NPA or other government agencies, it is prudent to take them with a grain of salt.

The method of reporting,(downplaying) is skewed in many cases to make the numbers seem less than the reality.

Probably it was 94 incidents in 2013, 100 in 2014-so-far, so the count only went up by 6 percent, not 100 percent as another poster stated. Not really statistically significant in a population of 120M, probably. Even less when considering that those figures include abductions by relatives and that such abductions occurred more often than those by strangers.