Hashimoto eyes sex offender ID ordinance

OSAKA — Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto said on Tuesday that he has instructed his prefectural government to consider enacting an ordinance that requires convicted pedophiles to report their addresses to local authorities.

The governor aims to submit the proposal during a prefectural assembly session in February.

If realized, the regulation would be unprecedented in Japan, according to a prefectural official.

The system in Japan regarding pedophiles "is too lax" compared with those in other countries, said Hashimoto, speaking to reporters at the prefectural office.

Describing pedophilia as a type of pathology, the governor said that social science data show that the recidivism rate is high among offenders.

An authority would be shirking its responsibilities if it did nothing to guard against pedophiles on the grounds that the privacy of former convicts must be respected, he added.

The government section in charge of the matter will carefully consider whether to make it mandatory for former sex offenders to submit their names and addresses after consulting with legal experts, and will also study regulating their behavior, including their interaction with children, the governor said.

But submission of the proposal will ultimately depend on the governor who is in office in February, said Hashimoto, who plans to hold the gubernatorial election in late November, along with the Osaka mayoral contest, by resigning in October before his term ends.

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