Press Conferences

Foreign Press Secretary KITAMURA Toshihiro: At the outset, I have two announcements. Both concern consular matters. The first is about the 2025 Statistics on Assistance Provided to Japanese Nationals Overseas.

The statistics is a compilation of cases of assistance handled by Japanese diplomatic missions overseas, such as embassies and consulates general, tabulated on a calendar-year basis by type of case, showing both the number of cases and the number of individuals involved.

Today, we will publish the latest version, the 2025 Statistics. Copies have already been distributed to you. We have been publishing these statistics since 1986, and this version marks the 40th publication.

Due to an increasing trend in the number of Japanese nationals traveling overseas, the total number of assistance cases in 2025 has increased from the previous year. In particular, the 2025 statistics notably show an increase from the previous year in both the number of cases and individuals involved in “accidents and disasters” and “criminal offending” among Japanese nationals traveling overseas.

We understand that the statistics are cited in various materials published by the Government, and are also utilized as a valuable resource by companies operating overseas. The statistics are available on the MOFA website and the Overseas Safety website. We encourage you to make full use of these.

Press Secretary KITAMURA: The second announcement concerns the free legal counseling support for victims of serious crimes.

In September 2024, a distressing incident occurred in Shenzhen, China, in which a student from a Japanese school was fatally stabbed. In response, in January 2025, MOFA launched a service called “Free Legal Counseling Support for Victims of Serious Crimes in China” at diplomatic missions in the country, enabling Japanese nationals living in China, particularly those who have been victims of serious crimes, to receive necessary advice from lawyers working in China for free, when they need legal advice. This service remains in operation.

Following the allocation of budget for this free legal counseling support scheme from fiscal year 2026, MOFA has been considering expanding the scheme to regions with a high number of assistance cases involving Japanese nationals. As a result, from this May, the free legal counseling support scheme has been launched in the Philippines, expanding beyond China.

In the Philippines, in addition to the high number of assistance cases involving Japanese nationals, heinous crimes have been occurring frequently. In August 2025, there was a robbery case involving firearms in Manila in which two Japanese nationals were killed, and robberies involving firearms, though falling short of resulting in fatalities, are occurring frequently.

In light of this situation, MOFA determined that it is necessary to implement the support scheme in the Philippines as well, from the perspective of supporting Japanese nationals who have been victims of crimes there.

MOFA will continue to expand this free legal counseling support scheme on a sequential basis, and will continue to provide every possible support to Japanese nationals overseas who have been victims of serious crimes.