National Police Agency officials are drafting changes to the law regulating
matchmaking sites that will allow them to keep tighter control over the sites
for lonely hearts that have often been used as fronts for such illegal
activities as prostitution.
Crimefighters hope to have their proposed revisions put before the Diet by
March.
NPA officials say the existing law regulating matchmaking sites contains no way
for them to be able to determine who is actually running them and they are
dependent on cooperation from providers and server operators to try and obtain
that information. Cops say there are many cases where they are unable to
pinpoint site operators operating illegally and that allows them to go
unpunished.
The NPA wants to counter that by requiring all online matchmaking sites to
register with prefectural public safety commissions or be punished for not
doing so. The NPA will draw up a list of requirements operators will be
expected to meet and ban members of organized crime gangs or those with
criminal records from involvement in the business.
To combat juvenile crime, site operators will be required to remove any posts
that may lead to illegal activity. Under the current law, deletions are left in
the hands of operators, but the NPA wants to make it mandatory for site
operators to immediately wipe out any posts making references to children.
And law enforcers also want some way to improve age verification methods.
Currently, most sites only ask users whether they are over 18 and allow them
access if they say they are, making it easy for minors to use the sites if they
lie. Police are hoping to make matchmaking sites a member's only business
accessible through payment by credit card - which can't be issued to under 18s
- or some other form of identification, such as a driver's license.
Crime connected to online matchmaking sites has declined since the law regulating the business came into effect in 2003, but there was an increase of 92 people to 1,153 cases in 2006 which prompted police to feel the existing regulations still aren't sufficient.
