What Can Be Learned? (From Why Is It Safer To Live in Tokyo, P 76-81, 1980, W Clifford, ed. - See NCJ-74380)

• NCJ Number: 74387
• Author(s): W Clifford
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 6 pages
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Language: English
• Country: Australia

Annotation

Aspects of the Japanese criminal justice system considered replicable in other countries are discussed.

Abstract

There are many cultural factors which contribute to the low crime rate in Japan, such as respect for authority and the responsibility of each individual to behave according to well defined family and communal norms and responsibilities. The criminal justice system operation within Japanese culture, however, was largely taken over from Western countries. Certain Japanese innovations for the Western criminal justice system can be replicated in other countries, even though the lawabiding tendencies nurtured by Japanese culture may be elusive. The close relationship between the police and public in Japan, while resting upon the disposition of citizens to respect authority, is still an ideal to be sought in Western countries. The Japanese structure for cooperation between the police and factories, schools, and neighborhoods would likely produce an improved relationship between police and the public if emulated elsewhere. A unified criminal justice system where the divisions of police, courts, and corrections cooperate to achieve common goals is an aspect of Japan's criminal justice system that could and should be replicated in other countries. Under such arrangements, particularly troubling and widespread problems of social order could be addressed through comprehensive and detailed planning. The cooperation between the public prosecutor and defense counsel in reducing and identifying areas of conflict prior to trial tends to reduce case backlog. The adversarial posture between defense and prosecution in Western countries tends to prolong trials without necessarily serving the interests of the defendant or the public. Japan's handgun control system, where only police are permitted to own handguns, appears to be replicable in other countries, but any such system must be tailored to the readiness of the public to comply to the particular regulations developed. For related articles, see NCJ 74380.