The revised law against stalking, which newly covers acts of repeatedly sending unwanted e-mail messages to targeted people, was approved by the Diet on Wednesday.

A bill to strengthen the law was unanimously approved at the day’s plenary meeting of the House of Representatives. It cleared the House of Councillors last week.

Also on Wednesday, the final day of the current regular Diet session, the lower house enacted a bill to revise the law against domestic violence following approval by the upper house last week.

Both amendments were submitted by lawmakers to the current session following murder cases related to stalking and domestic violence.

The antistalking law had so far covered such acts as lurking around targeted people, making repeated or silent phone calls, and sending unwanted fax messages. But sending unsolicited e-mail had not been covered because e-mailing was still uncommon when the law took effect in 2000.

Calls for revising the law grew since a woman in Zushi, Kanagawa Prefecture, was stabbed to death by her former boyfriend in November 2012 after being bombarded with unwanted e-mail messages from the man.

The woman went to the police for help after receiving the avalanche of e-mail. But the police were unable to charge the man under the antistalking law.

Under the revised law, police stations or local public safety commissions in areas where stalkers live or where acts of stalking took place can issue warnings or bans on stalking.

Previously, such warnings and bans had been issued only by police stations or public safety commissions in areas where victims’ residences were.

The revised law against domestic violence calls for protection of people suffering violence from live-in partners on top of those subject to violence from spouses and from partners in commonlaw marriage.

People who continue suffering violence from spouses or partners after they cease to live together are also eligible for protection under the law.

The amendment came on the heels of a case in which a man who was committing violence against his former girlfriend killed the woman’s mother and grandmother in Saikai, Nagasaki Prefecture, in December 2011.