Corruption in Japan and the U.S. (From Resource Material Series No. 56, P 435-439, 2000, Hiroshi Iitsuka and Rebecca Findlay-Debeck, eds. -- See NCJ-191475)

• NCJ Number: 191507
• Author(s): Anthony D. Castberg
• Date Published: December 2000
• Length: 5 pages
• Sale Source: United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: Japan
• Note: A paper from the 113th UNAFEI International Training Course, "The Effective Administration of Criminal Justice for the Prevention of Corrupt Activities by Public Officials," August 30-November 18, 1999.

Annotation

This paper examines the nature of public corruption in the United States and Japan and the measures these countries have used to counter it.

Abstract

Japan keeps detailed statistics on corrupt acts, but the United States has no centralized records on corrupt acts; therefore, this paper discusses differences in types, causes, and efforts to reduce corruption, rather than the volume of corruption. Corruption in Japan generally takes the form of bribery of high officials in the various ministries or prefectural governors, as well as those of lesser rank. Corruption in the United States tends to occur at lower governmental levels than in Japan, although several cabinet officials in the Clinton administration were investigated but not charged. Corruption among law enforcement officers at both the local/State and Federal levels occurs with some regularity in the Untied States, just as it does in Japan. In neither country is such corruption extensive. Corruption in the United States is most prevalent in political campaign financing, where laws are violated with regard to individual and corporate campaign contributions, but where the candidate rarely benefits financially. What is sought is election or re-election rather than cash. Both Japan and the United States have numerous laws against corrupt acts. It is doubtful that either country needs additional legislation to deal with the corruption of public officials, although Japan might consider a law similar to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. There are major differences between prosecution and adjudication in Japan and the United States. This is due to differences in the nature of these procedures. There may be clear political considerations in the decision making of many prosecutors and judges in the United States, since their careers may depend on making popular decisions. This is not the case in Japan, where both prosecutors and judges are career public officials who have been trained in the elite Legal Training and Research Institute.