Each of Japan's 47 prefectures is expected to have a support center where victims of rape and other sexual assaults will be able to receive medical treatment and counseling, due largely to new subsidies from the central government, a Kyodo News survey showed Saturday.

Eleven prefectures currently without such a facility -- Aomori, Iwate, Akita, Toyama, Ishikawa, Yamanashi, Shizuoka, Nara, Kagawa, Ehime and Kochi -- have begun considering setting one up although six of them do not have a concrete timetable at the moment.

The support centers, dubbed "one-stop assistance centers" by the government, serve as a refuge for sexual assault victims, including those who find it hard to report their case to police.