"The agency (National Police Agency) said that 1.8 million crimes took place last year - down 4.7 percent from a year earlier "
Source: Murder rate rises in Japan but total crimes fall
Jan 15th, 2009
Yomiuri Shibun
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_JAPAN_CRIME_ASOL-?SITE=YOMIURI&SECTION=HOSTED_ASIA&TEMPLATE=ap_national.html
Further reading:
Book - The Japanese Way of Justice:
Prosecuting Crime in Japan (Studies on Law and Social Control
Learn more about study in Japan at Study Abroad Japan