NCJ Number
74380
Editor(s)
W Clifford
Date Published
1980
Length
96 pages
Annotation
Characteristics of the Japanese culture and criminal justice system contributing to the low crime rate in Japan are analyzed from the perspective of an Australian team that visited Japan, and aspects of Japanese criminal justice operations believed replicable in Australia are discussed.
Abstract
The crime rate and crime patterns in Japan are noted to be lower than in similarly industrialized and urbanized Western countries. Stable families and communities that perpetuate informal social controls in the midst of urbanization are viewed as principal cultural factors countering the rise in crime evidence in many Western countries. Organized structures of police-community cooperation in crime prevention programs is a particular emphasis of the Japanese criminal justice system which probably could be modeled in other countries. Japanese prisons are viewed as generally having a more cooperative atmosphere among inmates than in Western prisons. The Japanese culture's respect for authority is again credited with being at the root of this circumstances. One aspect of the administration of Japan's prison system advised for Australia is the inclusion of the corrections division along with other criminal justice agencies under a single administrative bureau, rather than being separated from other criminal justice functions under the social services department. The handling of institutionalized juveniles in Japan is noted to be similar to that in Western countries. Contrary to patterns in Australia, however, the average length of stay in Japan's treatment centers are longer than in Australia, and Japan has no formal system of aftercare associated with institutions. Police-community relations, pretrial negotiations between defense counsel and the public prosecutor to reduce areas of conflict, and interagency cooperation to attack criminal justice problems are identified as the principal areas where Australia can profitably replicate Japan's criminal justice approaches. A discussion of the cost of criminal justice in Japan and Australia is appended. Graphs, tables, and figures are provided. For individual articles, see NCJ 74381-87.