Abstract
In this paper the development of criminology, especially from a sociological viewpoint in Japan, is analyzed. Before World War II psychiatrists took the initiative in the development of criminology. After the war sociology became a popular academic subject. Then, sociologists began to research crimes and criminals. Under the influence of theories on criminology in the United States sociological criminology has been developed especially after the establishment of the Japanese Association of Sociological Criminology in 1974. In this paper I evaluate the development of sociological criminology, and point out some problems by which this criminology may wane in the future.
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Notes
- 1.
In the place of the National Eugenic Law the Eugenic Protection Law was proclaimed in 1948, of which the main purpose was to suppress the birth of a baby with bad inheritance. To change the purpose to the protection of mother’s body at her pregnancy and parturition, this law was renamed the Mother’s Body Protection Law in 1996, under which the idea of compulsory sterilization from the viewpoint of eugenics was denied.
- 2.
Some sociologists carried out field research on the family system and farmers’ society.
- 3.
- 4.
First president was Soichi Nasu, my teacher. Second was Hiroaki Iwai, followed by Koji Kashikuma.
- 5.
With rapid industrialization the social structure changed drastically. Therefore, at that time the topic on crime control in the changing society was very important.
- 6.
It is a pity that most of the articles in “Japanese Journal of Sociological Criminology” are written in Japanese language.
- 7.
During the World War II many political criminals were tortured and treated inhumanly within the criminal justice. To prevent such inhuman abuse of criminal punishment, scholars in criminal law opposed criminalization.
- 8.
The National Police Agency has published the White Paper on Police since 1978. However, researchers of NRIPS are not responsible for this publication, although results of their research are sometimes cited in the white paper.
- 9.
Researchers at TILAMJ started to publish the White Paper on Crime in 1960. At the early period they analyzed data on crimes and criminals as criminologists independent from the policy by the Ministry of Justice.
- 10.
Officers affiliating with national government and the court are usually obliged to get permission to present their paper at the academic circle in advance. Their paper is sometimes censored by their boss. At the place of interpretation about data, they have to express that the interpretation is not official but private one. Especially, the judges at the court who respect the crime control model impose the strictest pressure on the family court probation officers not to express their own opinion freely. Under such pressure many probation officers give up to work as a professional case worker for juvenile’s best interests under the welfare model.
- 11.
The founder of Jodoshinshu was Shinran (1173–1262), who preached that even criminals are rescued by the mercy of Buddha. Then, many priests in Jodoshinshu have worked for rehabilitation of criminals especially as a chaplains.
- 12.
Hidemichi Morosawa, a chairman of directors’ board of Tokiwa University, studied victimology under the guidance of Koichi Miyazawa at the graduate school of Keio University.
- 13.
Minoru Yokoyama (2007) analyzed criminalization in the relation to change in public opinion.
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Yokoyama, M. (2013). Development of Criminology in Japan from a Sociological Perspective. In: Liu, J., Hebenton, B., Jou, S. (eds) Handbook of Asian Criminology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5218-8_15
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