CRIME CONTROL
Japanese Society's "Internal Policeman" Helps Keep the Public Safe
by
TAJ
Most sociologists agree that a country's crime rate can be expected to rise as its society becomes increasingly urban and developed. Overcrowding and the demands of city life often breed a sense of pressure and alienation in individuals, which may in turn lead them to acts of defiance.
This has been particularly evident in the world's industrialized nations over the past decade. In the United States, for example, cases of murder, assault, rape, and robbery increased 47.3 percent during the 1970's. Today, a violent crime occurs there every 27 seconds. And in West Germany, France, and Britain, too, the social development has been paralleled by a discomforting growth in crime.
Yet Japan stands out as quite an exception to this trend. In outward appearance, Japanese society may resemble its Western counterparts - affluent, mobile, and congested- but its crime rate is not only lower than theirs, it has actually declined in the process of postwar modernization. In 1979, for instance, Japan reported only half as many murders per thousand population as West Germany, one-third as many as France, and one-sixth as many as the United States. And in terms of the urban environment, a person is 225 times more likely to be a victim of burglary in New York than in Tokyo; 14 times more likely a victim of rape.
What this means to the average Japanese citizen is a general feeling of safety. "I could walk all the way from central Tokyo to Yokohama Port in the middle of the night," boasts one Japanese oil company executive, "without any fear of muggers or pickpockets. I probably wouldn't even meet a panhandler."
Thirty kilometers of safe city streets? As incredible as such a statement might seem to those who live in big cities elsewhere in the world, it represents the mood that prevails when crime is brought under control as it has been in Japan. The big question is "how?"
Cultural and Social Heritage
The Japanese themselves find it somewhat difficult to answer this question. It is true that efforts have been made to combat crime, as they have been in all countries, but there has been no conscious crusade to reduce the crime rate in Japan - at least not in the sense that a conscious movement has been made to industrialize and promote the nation's GNP. Japan's low crime rate seems to have "just happened," despite the social pressure caused by urbanization, as a result of cultural and social factors unique to the Japanese people.
According to officials at the Ministry of Justice in Tokyo, many of the reasons behind the nation's achievement of law and order are a function of heritage. The society is, by and large, homogeneous with racial, linguistic, and cultural unity. The Japanese value system traditionally emphasizes compassion, harmony, and fellow-feeling, and there is a natural tendency among the Japanese to promote group solidarity within families, enterprises, and communities. Moreover, unofficial social structures wield strong power over individuals, compelling them to conform with group norms.
Whereas Western societies tend to stress independence and self-sufficiency as individual virtues, the Japanese place a great deal more importance on conformity and the development of self-control. The result is that the individual Japanese adult embodies what might be called an "internal policeman," or strong sense of conscience, which guards against any actions that might be harmful to others.
Much has also been attributed to the Japanese sense of "face." Losing face is tantamount to sin in the Japanese psychology, so actions that might bring disrespect from society are strictly avoided. And there is an unwritten code of ethics that determines how face must be preserved in all social relationships.
However, if Japan's achievement of crime control is only a function of its cultural and social heritage, then there is very little the rest of the world can gain from its experience. Traditions and values are not readily transferable. Fortunately, though, there are a few innovations in the Japanese method of establishing law and order that can be applied directly in other industrialized societies., such as Japan's approach to gun control.
A Disarmed Society
Nearly four hundred years ago, Japan began its tradition as a disarmed society. In 1588, Toyotomi Hideyoshi issued the "Sword Hunting Order," which placed severe restrictions on the private ownership of guns, swords, and knives. The only exception was made for samurai, the nation's warrior class, who then comprised about seven percent of the population. But in 1876, even this group had to give up its arms as a law was made, abolishing the right to own weapons privately.
Today, the control of swords and firearms remains extremely strict by world standards. Adults are permitted only to own air rifles or hunting rifles under licenses that must be renewed every five years. Each gun owner must attend a course on the use and legalities of firearms. And ownership of any kind of pistol is prohibited.
As a result, the incidence of crimes involving guns is quite low in Japan. In 1977, for example, the firearms-use ratio in Japan was 1/10 that of France in the case of murder, 1/10 that of West Germany in the case of burglary, and 1/230 that of the United States in assault and battery. In fact, in 1979, only 171 of all Japan's crimes were committed with the use of guns. Police officials are quick to note that tight control of firearms does not ensure a reduction in the number of crimes, but it does tend to reduce the likelihood of fatality and serious injury in crimes that do occur. Today, there is no movement in Japan for relaxation of the weapons' law.
Another area in which Japan excels is the prevention of drug abuse. There were one-fourth as many violations of Japanese drug laws in 1973 as in 1959. In 1978, only 191 persons in the whole country were convicted of narcotics offenses. Since drug addiction has been linked to the prevalence of other crimes, such as burglary, the nation's ability to control the flow of hard drugs may partly be responsible for its low crime rate in urban areas.
Authorities feel that the public itself deserves most of the credit for the low incidence of drug-related crimes. By fostering a supportive social environment in which there is no urgent need to "escape reality," the Japanese society acts to combat the desire for drugs. But there is little doubt that strict enforcement of drug abuse laws has also helped alleviate the potential problem. Japan even made an example for the world of its nonpreferential treatment of drug users, by jailing and later deporting Paul McCartney when it was discovered that he had entered the country with marijuana in his possession in 1980.
Most recently, justice officials have noted a strong increase in stimulant drug offenses by young adults and glue sniffing by youths. This is thought to be partly due to widespread and organized sale of drugs smuggled into the country by criminal organizations. It is also supported by the pleasure-seeking trend in modern Japanese society. But the annual rate of offenses by all types of drugs in Japan is still so low - only about 7,000 cases per 10,000 population - that the country remains virtually drug-free by world standards.
Japan's national police force also deserves a great deal of credit in the creation of a safe society. This centralized, nationwide system has certain inherent advantages in that it promotes cooperation and communication between local police units and cuts down on redundancy in police operations. As proof of its effectiveness, Japanese police officers recorded an arrest rate of 68.6 percent in 1978, and their rate of solving murder, burglary, assault and battery, larceny, and rape cases is higher than those of officers in the United States, Britain, France, and West Germany.
One very special feature of the Japanese system is the use of fixed police posts - koban in cities and chuzaisho in rural areas - which serve as mini police stations. Officers manning these two- or three-room units patrol the local neighborhoods on bicycle or on foot. Within two years, they come to know almost every building and person in their areas. This creates a very personal connection between the public and the police.
Altogether, there are some 15,700 such mini-stations throughout Japan, outnumbering patrol cars by a ratio of about five to one. They serve their communities not only in terms of crime control, but also as sources of information and emergency aid. So it comes as no surprise that most Japanese respect their local patrolmen, whom they refer to in a friendly way as "omawari-san," or "Mr. Walkabout."
Swift System of Justice
In many urban societies, people argue that stricter laws, more severe penalties, and stronger legal administration may be the key to deterring crime. Yet Japan's system of justice is not particularly harsh. Capital punishment can still be meted out for such crimes as homicide and treason; sentences of five to ten years forced labor may be handed down for cases of robbery; and a rapist who kills or injures his victim faces possible life imprisonment. But if there is a major difference in the Japanese system, it is in the swift method of administering justice, not in the laws themselves.
For example, in New York a suspect must normally wait about ten months between indictment and trial. In Japan, 68.6 percent of all cases are handled within 15 days, 84.6 percent within one month. The reason for this disparity has to do largely with the Japanese approach to misdemeanors. Many traffic violations carry automatic fines, thus reducing the amount of time used up in courts. First-time offenders, even in such cases as petty larceny, are frequently asked by the police to write official "letters of apology" and make private reparation in lieu of standing trial. This approach appeals strongly to the Japanese desire to save face.
And whereas only one-third of those arrested for serious crimes in the United States ever go to jail, Japanese defendants are almost certain of guilty verdicts. In 1978, of the 2,508,147 persons who stood final trial in Japan, for all crimes, including traffic violations, only 223 were found innocent. According to one lawyer, Japanese public prosecutors only go to trial when they are sure they can prove their case, so court-appointed defense attorneys (chosen by a lottery-type system) offer them little or no challenge. Defendants generally plead guilty rather than face the "shame" of contesting the state's charges.
A number of other factors can also be cited with regard for Japan's low crime rate. The nation has achieved a relatively uniform distribution of wealth, for one, and managed to keep unemployment at about two percent. This positive economic climate has allowed nearly 90 percent of the citizenry to obtain middle-class status and resulted in an absence of class competition that might spawn crime.
Another element is the great support that communities give to their police. Grassroots organizations called "Crime Prevention Associations" have been set up across the country to help law enforcement officers inform citizens about crime and its prevention. The groups currently number about 8,000.
And Japan has been making great strides in the area of recidivism, too. In most industrialized countries, nearly a quarter of all serious crimes are committed by fewer than ten percent of all criminals. To reduce the number of repeat offenders, rehabilitative associations has been established to assist former inmates in finding work and reentering society. Notably, the rate of recidivism among all persons arrested for penal code offenses is nearly 20 percent lower in Japan than in West Germany and about half as high as the U.S. rate.
Just Shy of Utopia
The only blemish against Japan's record against crime is the high population of juvenile offenders among its criminal arrests. The National Police Agency estimates that in 1980 some 40 percent of all crimes (excluding traffic violations) were committed by juveniles, and the rate of crime for young people is now over six times that of adults.
Most of these offenses are cases of larceny, particularly shoplifting, bicycle theft, and misappropriation of unattended possessions. In recent years, many juvenile delinquents have come from average families that are not poor and that have both parents residing in the household. Justice officials recognize this as a major area of concern. Some of the reasons cited for the problem are an increase of the amount of violence shown on television and a general thrill-seeking trend among youths, especially 14 and 15 year olds.
The solution to juvenile delinquency in Japan will not come easy. The use of indeterminate sentences for repeat offenders and the establishment of juvenile training homes are two methods being tried. But as one observer points out, the real key may lie in Japan's time-honored values of harmony and self-control. "Crime can only be prevented by people themselves," he says. "If a society can correct the forces that distort people's lives and give rise to feelings of alienation and apathy, it can control crime."
This article first appeared in Tradepia International, Spring 1981
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