Crime and Justice in Japan: Implications for the United States

Examining official statistics from the United States since the mid-1960's, we see rapidly increasing rates of crime. Japan, on the other hand, has experienced rates that have dramatically declined during this same period. In fact, Japan is the only industrialized non-communist nation where crime has been decreasing. This paper summarizes the structural/cultural and justice related reasons for this phenomenon. Implications for the United States are specified.     

Crime,politics, and minority populations: Use of official statistics in the united states and Japan

Although the governments of the United States and Japan differ markedly in racial ideology, official crime statistics in both nations reflect political arrangements which marginalize minority populations. In both nations, official crime statistics reveal more about the attempts of majority populations to label minority populations as a criminal class than about variations in criminal behavior across racial populations. While there is no racially pure Black population in the United States, there is a “black” category within official statistics, and the statistics are used to justify crime control policies which have a disparate impact on the diverse peoples who are socially‐perceived as Black. While there are undeniably non‐Japanese populations in Japan, there are no racial categories for them in official statistics which define them out of existence; except where crime statistics are concerned, so that the police can monitor the criminality of “foreigners.” In both societies, official categorization of race in crime statistics implies that crime is a minority problem; government statistics reinforce official ideology that crimes by “foreigners” and “black violence” are the real threats to civil society.     

Differences in levels of deviance between Japanese and American students: the influence of peer deviance

In the current study, by drawing on the literature concerning peer deviance and criminological social learning theory, and on theory and research concerning cultural variability in uncertainty avoidance, we offer a rationale for predicting that peer deviance will be lower among Japanese than among Americans. The lower level of peer deviance among Japanese, in turn, might explain why crime and deviant behaviour are less common in Japan compared to the United States. Analyses of comparable survey data from college students in Japan and the United States (N = 1271) provide strong support for our hypothesis.     

A comparison of mediated and non-mediated juvenile offender cases in California

Juvenile delinquency is a major public concern in the United States, and increasingly in many other industrialized countries. The last few years have seen a decline in officially recorded juvenile delinquency (Snyder, 1997). However, projections are that with the anticipated increase of the U.S. teenage population because of the echo baby boom generation, serious juvenile crime will substantially increase in the next few years (see Fox, 1996).     

Female criminality: An overview

This article provides a broad overview of female crime and female offenders in the criminal justice system with a particular focus on the United States. The specific topics covered include the following: the age‐gender‐crime relationship, the types of crime committed by women, women and violent crime, the gender factor in the criminal and juvenile justice systems, and women in corrections. The article also includes the following: recommendations for improving comparative research and analysis in the study of female crime, a listing of important research topics in the comparative study of female crime, a discussion of the value of middle range theory in the study of female crime.     

The Etiology of Juvenile Delinquency: The United States and Switzerland Compared

Both Switzerland and the United States are highly affluent societies and rank consistently among the top five countries in the world in per capita income, both are Western democracies, both are highly urbanized, and both are highly industrialized. Thus, it is quite surprising to discover that Switzerland has much lower rates of crime and delinquency than is the case for the United States, a fact which is especially true for violent crimes. This paper attempts to explain the sources of the differences in crime rates between the two countries and gives special attention to a comparison of juvenile misconduct in the two countries.

In the first section, difficulties are discussed concerning the measurement of crime and delinquency in Switzerland, a country which collects few data on social problems in general. Some general trends are shown to be clear, however, including marked increases in drug abuse and suicide cases among the young in Switzerland. In the subsequent section, previous explanations of crime in Switzerland as compared to the United States are reviewed with special emphasis on Clinard's famous Cities with Little Crime: The Case of Switzerland (1978). The limitations of earlier interpretations are considered in detail. Finally, this paper ends by generating a set of theoretically and practically informed hypothesis for explaining the differences in crime rates between the two countries. It is hoped that these hypotheses will form the basis for more detailed research in the future.     

Black Mist and White Collars: Economic Crime in the United States and Japan

Comparative studies of crime have persistently challenged and daunted criminology scholars. For criminologists studying Japan, interest has traditionally been focused on the country’s much-heralded low crime rate. The current study examines white-collar lawbreaking in both the United States and Japan, focusing on similarities and differences in culture, law, criminal justice system response, corporate governance, and regulation. The study concludes that if Japan’s low crime rate is an enigma to criminologists, then its ample amounts of white-collar and corporate crime appear that much more puzzling. Given that the depth of the problem of white-collar crime goes far beyond adjudicated cases, Japan’s remarkably low rate of common crime is likely eclipsed by its rate of white-collar and corporate crime. The study concludes that the different legal and cultural contexts of the “law in inaction” go far in explaining the official nonrecognition of white-collar and corporate crime in both the United States and Japan.

Economic Conditions, Deterrence and Juvenile Crime: Evidence from Micro Data

This article investigates the determinants of criminal activityamong juveniles in the United States. It uses a survey of U.S.high school students conducted in 1995, which provides detailedinformation on offenses; personal, family, and neighborhoodcharacteristics; as well as deterrence measures. The determinantsof selling drugs and committing assault, robbery, burglary,and theft are analyzed separately for males and females. Theresults provide some evidence that juveniles respond to incentivesand sanctions. Employment opportunities and policies designedto increase the probability of arrest may be effective toolsfor reducing juvenile crime.     

Public preferences for rehabilitation versus incarceration of juvenile offenders

While juvenile justice policy in the United States has become more punitive in recent years, it remains unclear whether the public actually favors this response in lieu of more rehabilitation-oriented services. Public opinion polling generally shows that the public favors less punitive responses than policymakers often suppose, but significant questions remain about the accuracy of these perceptions generally, and in how they have been assessed in particular. Data from four states (Illinois, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and Washington) aimed at assessing public preferences for rehabilitation and incarceration as a response to serious juvenile crime indicated that, for the most part, the public was willing to pay more in taxes for rehabilitation than incarceration.     

Hate groups and hate crime

This paper is the first to investigate the relationship between hate groups and hate crime empirically. We do so using panel data for the U.S. states between 2002 and 2008. Contrary to conventional wisdom, we find little evidence that hate groups are associated with hate crime in the United States. We find somewhat stronger evidence that economic hardship may be related to hate crime. However, evidence for the potential importance of economic factors remains weak. Further, we find that demographic variables are not significantly related to hate crime in the United States. Our results leave the question of what factors may drive hate crime in America unresolved. But they cast doubt on the popular perception that hate groups are among them.     

Crime Trends in Europe from 1990 to 1996: How Europe Illustrates the Limits of the American Experience

In the Council of Europe's European Sourcebook of Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics, crime and other relevant data are assembled for 36 European countries and the years 1990 to 1996. The data show that crime trends differed from those in the United States. Particularly drug and violent offences continued to increase until the end of the period under consideration (1996). Most of the theoretical explanations of crime trends currently in vogue in the United States seem of little help in understanding current European trends. Generally the most valid approaches seem to be routine-activities and situational explanations.     

Cross-national comparison of homicide: Age/sex-adjusted rates using the 1980 U.S. homicide experience as a standard

Cross-sectional studies of crime have typically relied on crude crime rates when making comparisons between countries. Crude rates control for population size but implicitly assume that all members of the population are equally at risk. Empirical studies have shown that, cross-nationally, risk varies by age and sex. Standardization of crime rates removes the confounding effects of variable age and sex population distributions. Since age/sex-specific crime rates are generally unavailable for many countries, the method of indirect standardization is the most desirable technique. Age/sex-adjusted homicide rates for 76 countries are presented, and two comparative measures are suggested. It is shown that while the United States has a higher homicide rate than all but 15 countries; in most cases, the magnitude of the difference, not controlling for age/sex differences, is overestimated. Crude rates underestimate differences between the United States and countries with higher rates of homicide.     

Youth Crime in Canada: Observations for Cross-Cultural Analysis

Despite its proximity to the United States, Canada provides a unique context within which youth crime can be examined and utilized for comparative analyses. Canada's demographics, cultural mosaic, and the legislative and political bases of criminal justice are quite distinct from those of the United States. While Canadian youth generally experience lower rates of crime than their U.S. counterparts, there are areas where such rates are comparable and require close examination. Among the emerging concerns in youth crime are crime in urban areas, ethnic youth gangs, and the high rates of involvement of aboriginal youth in crime in many areas of the country. The notions of vulnerable youths and viable communities are offered as two useful concepts for the study of youth crime on a national and cross-national basis. High on the research agenda are studies of youth crime in the urban/rural/remote areas of the country, the impact of immigration policy on the emergence of specific types of youth crime, and longitudinal studies of male and female youth crime.     

The Juvenile Delinquency Problem in Japan: Application of a Role Relationship Model

The purpose of this paper is to seek a better understanding of the social conditions within Japan which may be related to the increasing rates of juvenile delinquency. This trend is in sharp contrast to their overall crime patterns. In fact, as reported by Ames (1981:1), Japan has the lowest crime rate in the industrialized world, and its crime totals have declined since 1955. Within this article, we discuss youth crime trends, explain the applicability of a role relationship model, discuss the breakdown in informal social control/social relationship areas, and suggest implications for Western societies.     

Asian transnational organized crime and its impact on the United States: Developing a transnational crime research agenda

Undertaken on behalf of the National Institute of Justice between July 2003 and August 2004, the research goals of this study were to (a) determine high priority areas for research on Asian transnational organized crime (TOC); (b) assess the impact of Asian TOC on the United States; (3) identify relevant data and information sources in Asia; and (4) identify potential collaborative research partners and institutions in Asia. The aim was thus not to examine in detail the organized crime situation in this region, but rather to lay the foundation for a research agenda and strategy that would accomplish that purpose. In seeking to achieve this aim, the researchers used a variety of techniques as part of an overall exploratory methodology. They included four months of interviews (andfield observations) with experts in eight Asian sites, including law enforcement officials, policymakers, and scholars, as well as American officials in each site. Meetings were also held with Asian crime experts in the United States. Interviews and site visits were supplemented with surveys and analyses done by local Asian researchers, an analysis of U.S. indictments, and the review of a large volume of literature. The sites covered by this research are China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Japan, Philippines, Thailand, and Cambodia. The major findings are first, that there is little consensus among the Asian authorities on just wliat their main organized crime problems are. Whereas the Asian authorities give higher priority to traditional organized crimes, e.g., gambling, extortion, prostitution, etc., the American authorities focus more on transnational crimes. Consistent with this view, Asian authorities do not see much linkage between the local or regional crime groups about which they are most concerned, and transnational organized crime. Next, contrary to the views and expectations of some American authorities, the commonly expressed view among the respondents in this study is that there is no collaboration or linkage between transnational organized crime groups and terrorists. Finally, the transnational organized crime networks operating in the region are said to be highly specialized, with any overlapping of criminal activities occurring mostly at the level of transportation of goods or people. It is recommended that future collaborative research efforts focus on trafficking in women and children, human smuggling, and drug production and trafficking. These are likely to continue to have the most impact upon the United States and upon U.S. interests in the region. It is further recommended that these research efforts be both bi-lateral (principally with China) and multi-lateral in nature. A wide variety of potentially willing research partners are identified and their strengths and weaknesses are assessed. Finally, a specific strategy for accomplishing the research agenda is proposed. Support for this research was provided by TDL# 1700-215 from the National Institute of Justice. The opinions are those of the authors and do not reflect the policies or views of the National Institute of Justice.     

AGE AND ITS RELATION TO CRIME IN TAIWAN AND THE UNITED STATES: INVARIANT,OR DOES CULTURAL CONTEXT MATTER?*

Current empirical and theoretical understanding of the relation between age and crime is based almost entirely on data from the United States and a few prototypical Western societies for which age‐specific crime information across offense types is available. By using Western databases, Hirschi and Gottfredson (1983) projected that the age distribution of crime is always and everywhere robustly right‐skewed (i.e., sharp adolescent peak)—a thesis that is both contested and widely accepted in criminology and social science writings. In the study described here, we tested this age–crime invariance thesis by comparing age–crime patterns in Taiwan (a non‐Western Chinese society) with those in the United States. In light of Taiwan's collectivist culture versus the U.S. individualist gestalt, we anticipated more divergence than homogeneity in their age–crime schedules. Our findings show robust divergence in Taiwan's age–crime patterns compared with U.S. patterns and the reverted J‐shaped norm projected by Hirschi and Gottfredson. Implications for research and theory on the age–crime relation and for studying human development or life‐course topics more broadly are discussed.     

Juvenile parole policy in the United States: Determinate versus indeterminate models

This paper presents an overview of eight approaches in juvenile parole policy for terminating, extending, and discharging youths from juvenile parole or aftercare. These types were derived from the results of a national survey of juvenile parole policy in the United States. This survey was sent to the departments of correction, youth service bureaus, and legislative service agencies for the 50 states. The survey sought comparative data on trends in substantive and procedural approaches for handling parole duration and discharge issues for juvenile offenders. These trends are evaluated in relation to movements toward formalism in corrections, recent reforms in juvenile sentencing, standards promulgated by various standard-setting groups, and recent shifts in juvenile justice philosophy in the United States.     

TRANSFERRING JUVENILES TO ADULT COURTS. Recent trends and issues in Canada and the United States

This paper examines the practice of transferring youngsters from juvenile to adult courts in Canada and the United States from 1986 to 1994. The research indicates that Canada and the United States have similar provisions for trying youths as adults. The United States transfers large numbers of juveniles (nearly 13,000 per year recently) to adult courts each year, and most of these youngsters are non-violent offenders. By contrast, in Canada transfers are still relatively rare (521 over a nine year period), and most of these youngsters are charged with violent offenses.     

Juvenile delinquency and the juvenile justice system: U.S. and India

The paper deals with comparative issues in the definition, nature, and extent of juvenile delinquency, juvenile law, juvenile justice with special reference to India and the United States. Through an analysis of comparative data on patterns of delinquency differentials on the variables of sex, age, social class, and type of offense, the paper identifies the similarities between the two countries. The paper notes one exception regarding patterns of delinquency that indicate a relatively negligible involvement of the Indian juveniles in the crime of rape due to the cultural and socialization differences. The paper discusses the provisions under the Children Act of 1960 in India and points that both in philosophy and practice, the parens patriae doctrine in juvenile justice fares better in the Indian context. Unlike in the U.S., juveniles in India do not have certain Constitutional due process rights, such as the right to an attorney, yet the children courts in India serve as criminal courts and the Indian act provides for greater procedural safeguards. The paper also suggests that the disposition of juvenile cases in India results in lesser hard-core institutional commitment than in the U.S. and that the maximum period of punishment does not exceed the limits provided for the offense as stipulated by the Indian act.     

The use of corruption by “Russian” organized crime in the United States

This paper exemplifies the research of the Organized Crime Study Center in Vladivostok, Russia. Using secondary sources, it examines Russian organized crime in the United States in recent years. Special attention is given to the study of cases of corruption by Russian criminal groups in the United States. The author analyzes corruption, crime, and the practices of U.S. law enforcement agencies to combat them.