Japan approves Bills to restrict use of Bluetooth tags for stalking
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The number of stalkers who utilise Bluetooth tags via their smartphone has risen since 2023.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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The Japanese government on Nov 11 approved Bills to revise laws against stalking and domestic violence by restricting the use of Bluetooth tags to track a person’s location, amid rising misuse of the device.
The use of Global Positioning System devices for unauthorised location tracking was banned under a previous revision of the anti-stalking law in 2021. But the use of Bluetooth tags, which are usually attached to valuable items to help users find them, was not restricted.
The anti-domestic violence law is also set to be revised to ensure the use of such tags is prohibited under restraining orders issued by courts.
If the Bills are enacted during the current extraordinary parliamentary session that runs until Dec 17, they will be enforced 20 days after promulgation.
The number of stalkers who utilise the tags via their smartphone has risen in recent years.
There were 196 such incidents reported in 2023 and 370 in 2024, according to the National Police Agency’s data. The 2025 figure has already exceeded the previous year’s, it showed.
A further change to the anti-stalking law includes authorising police to intervene without waiting for a request from the person being stalked
This follows the murder of a 20-year-old woman near Tokyo
