NPA chief urges Kanagawa police to review response to stalker case
National Police Agency Commissioner-General Yoshinobu Kusunoki said Thursday that he will instruct the Kanagawa Prefectural Police department to thoroughly review its response to a case in which the body of a 20-year-old woman was found at her former boyfriend's home in the city of Kawasaki on April 30.
Her family claims that the woman, Asahi Okazaki, was stalked by the man and that the response by the police was inadequate.
Kusunoki said at a news conference that the Kanagawa police department reported that it takes the outcome of the case seriously and will work to examine if there were any points in its handling of the case that could have been better.
"It's difficult to accurately understand the danger and urgency (of a stalking case) when it is detected, but it is likely to escalate into a serious case," the NPA chief said.
He said that the NPA had instructed police nationwide to make themselves available to people seeking advice on harassment and stalking and to prioritize ensuring their safety, and noted the need to check whether the Kanagawa police followed this instruction.
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