Crime and Justice in Contemporary Japan

Description

This book provides an important overview of key criminology and criminal justice concerns in Japan. It highlights similarities between the practice of criminology research in Japan, as well as important differences, with other areas of Asia and with the West. In previous decades, Japan attracted international attention as the only industrialized country where the crime rate declined along with a rise in urbanization and economic development. Currently, Japan still enjoys a declining crime rate (the lowest among major industrialized countries) and a study of criminal justice practices in Japan may provide important insights for other regions. Japan also experiences important contemporary challenges which are shared by other regions: 1. Japan has the highest proportion of people over the age of 60 in the world. For criminology, this means key challenges in the victimization of older people, as well as the challenges of an aging prison population. 2. Besides the United States, Japan is the only developed country that still practices capital punishment, and its rate has been on the rise in the past 20 years. 3. Japan has also introduced new reforms in its law practice, including the introduction of new trial formats. The research in this book provides a helpful overview for scholars interested in criminology and criminal justice in Japan to understand the key issues of concern, and present a framework for future research needs. It will be of interest to researchers in criminology and criminal justice, international studies, Asian Studies, sociology, and political science. Front Matter ....Pages i-x Asian Criminology and Crime and Justice in Japan: An Introduction (Jianhong Liu, Setsuo Miyazawa)....Pages 1-9 Front Matter ....Pages 11-11 Changes in Crime and Reactions to Crime in Japan Becoming Stagnant with Aging (Minoru Yokoyama)....Pages 13-27 Kin, Crime, and Criminal Justice in Contemporary Japan (Mari Kita)....Pages 29-50 Incidents of Homicides or Murder–Suicides by Family Caregivers in Japan and Challenges for Prevention (Etsuko Yuhara)....Pages 51-81 The Effect of Disaster Damage on the Occurrence of Crime: A Survey of Residents of Four Prefectures Affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake (Hideo Okamoto, Takemi Mori, Tsuneyuki Abe, Toyoji Saito)....Pages 83-98 Revisiting Japan’s Postwar Homicide Trend: 1951–2014 (Aki Roberts)....Pages 99-116 Front Matter ....Pages 117-117 Potential Risk Factors for Serious Delinquency: Findings from Osaka Male Youths (Laura Bui, David P. Farrington, Mitsuaki Ueda)....Pages 119-135 Laying the Groundwork for Testing Routine Activity Theory at the Microlevel Using Japanese Satellite Positioning Technology (Yutaka Harada)....Pages 137-151 Analysis of Current Criminals in Japan Based on Typology of Relationships with Others (Kyoko Fujino)....Pages 153-169 Front Matter ....Pages 171-171 Considering Japanese Criminal Justice from an Original Position (Mark A. Levin)....Pages 173-188 Sentencing and Punishment in Japan and England: A Comparative Discussion (Julius Weitzdörfer, Yuji Shiroshita, Nicola Padfield)....Pages 189-214 Fire, Coerced Confession, and Wrongful Conviction: A Tale of Two Countries (Michael H. Fox)....Pages 215-235 From Measuring Support for the Death Penalty to Justifying Its Retention: Japanese Public Opinion Surveys on Crime and Punishment, 1956–2014 (Mai Sato)....Pages 237-252 Crime Victims’ Protection Under the Free Speech Law in Japan (Yuichiro Tsuji)....Pages 253-271 Front Matter ....Pages 273-273 The Impact of Previous Sentencing Trends on Lay Judges’ Sentencing Decisions (Masahiko Saeki, Eiichiro Watamura)....Pages 275-290 To Be Suspended or Not to Be?: The Effects of Emotions and Personality Variables on Lay People’s Judgment of Suspension of Punishment (Masahiro Fujita)....Pages 291-302 A Future Prospect of Criminal Justice Policy for Sex Crimes in Japan- the Roles of the Lay Judge System There (Mari Hirayama)....Pages 303-317 Front Matter ....Pages 319-319 The Juvenile Justice System of Japan: An Overview (Marika Dawkins, Camille Gibson)....Pages 321-331 Empirical Research on Sociocultural Transition in Children in a Children’s Self-Reliance Support Facility and the Effect of Support (Takaharu Ohara)....Pages 333-344 Back Matter ....Pages 345-352