[This one was a bit harder to translate than most due to using legal and obscure terms, please take this translation with a grain of salt.]
In May of the 12th year of the Heisei era (the year 2000), the "Stalker Control Act" was enacted in an ordinary session of the National Diet. This "Stalker Control Act", or to be more precise, the "Act Concerning the Regulation of Stalking Behaviour, etc.", stipulates the regulations necessary to punish stalking behavior and to provide assistance to its victims.
This law prohibits the "stalking" or "shadowing" of a specific person or their family members out of resentment against that person for not reciprocating one's romantic feelings or goodwill.
"Shadowing" refers to:
- Following, lying in wait for, or barging in on a person.
- Behaviour that indicates that a person is being monitored.
- Demanding meetings, companionship, and other actions that a person is not obligated to do.
- Unreasonable speech and conduct.
- Silent or continuous phone calls and faxing.
- Mailing filth, animal carcasses, and the like.
- Acts that defame a person.
- Invasion of a person's sexual privacy. [The original used 'sexual shame' instead, so I believe this means looking for or revealing embarrassing information about a person's sexuality/sexual life.]
In short, shadowing behavior includes conduct from following someone around, slandering, or even the sending of obscene writings, to actions that indicate monitoring such as asking "What time were you at XX today?"
In addition, "stalking" refers to the repetition of the above-mentioned shadowing behaviors.
Such actions are prohibited only if they are committed in a manner that threatens a person's safety, tranquility, or reputation, greatly impairs their freedom of movement, or worsens one's mental health.
When someone participates in stalking behavior, they are first warned by the chief of their police station or similar figure, and if they do not heed that warning, the public safety committee will issue an interdiction. If the stalking behavior continues, a sentence of no more than one year in penal servitude or a fine of up to one million yen will be imposed.
Alternatively, the victim can sue the stalker and seek punishment. If charged, the stalker is also subject to prosecution and can be imprisoned for up to six months or receive a fine not exceeding 500,000 yen.
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