The Future of Social Control in Japan
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2886469 |
|---|---|
| Authors | David H Bayley (University of Denver, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1978 |
| Volume | 51 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 24 |
| Publication date | 1978-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Pacific Affairs (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0030-851X • E-ISSN: 1715-3379 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/2757007 |
| OpenAlex | W2314266669 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 1 |
occurring among the younger generation connected with what are perceived to be fundamental values. Their anxiety is heightened by the haunting example of the United States. Is Japan fated to become more and more like the U.S.-violent, fearful, and unsafe? Japanese professionals in law-enforcement wonder about the significance of recent small changes in criminality: rising juvenile delinquency, an increased proportion of crime committed by women, and greater difficulties in protecting property in apartment communities in major cities. Many foreign observers, confronted with Japan's remarkable record of low criminality, seem to believe that Japan is going through a unique phase that will give way inevitably to patterns of crime conforming to Western experience. This article examines the features of Japanese that account for its record of low criminality and points out the signs that indicate whether the system is being undermined. According to figures provided by the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), Japan has the lowest crime rate of any modern industrial nation. The only nations with lower rates are less developed countries where the accuracy of crime reporting is suspect. Not only is the Japanese crime rate low, but it has been declining for several years. In 1948, the peak post-war year for crime, non-traffic offences under the Penal Code numbered i,599,968; in 1975 the figure was i,232,353.' The crime rate was I, I 22 per ioo,ooo. The contrast with the United States could not be more dramatic: considering only the seven categories of serious crime that comprise the F.B.I.'s index, the U.S. had 4,120 crimes per ioo,ooo. There are four times as many serious crimes per person in the United States as there are crimes of all sorts in Japan. An individual is ten times more likely to be murdered in the U.S. than in Japan; thirteen times more likely to be
Control (management) · Political science · Social control · Social science · Sociology · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Japanese History and Culture
| Citations per year | 0.03 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1990 - 1990 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |