In the wake of a fatal stabbing that exposed the limits of a restraining order, Japan is confronting a truth that legal instruments alone cannot protect the vulnerable from determined harm. With stalking cases reaching a 25-year high in 2025, the government has proposed GPS tracking devices for those under restraining orders — a measure already tested in other nations — as a way of closing the distance between a court's decree and a victim's safety. The proposal reflects a broader reckoning: that the architecture of protection must evolve when the scale of danger outgrows the laws designed to
Japan considers GPS tracking for stalkers under restraining orders
A woman was fatally stabbed by her former partner at her Tokyo workplace in March 2024, despite a restraining order being in place against the suspect.