NCJ Number
134244
Journal
International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice Volume: 15 Issue: 1 and 2 Dated: (Spring/Fall 1991) Pages: 153-173
Date Published
1991
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This study explores relationships between fluctuations in unemployment rates and crime cycles in Japan during the reign of Emperor Hirohito (1926 to 1988).
Abstract
Crime data are the dependent variables and were collected from official Japanese police statistics. The unemployment data (the independent variable) was collected from various governmental sources. Pearson's product moment correlation and the coefficient of determination were used to measure levels of association between unemployment and specific crime categories. Findings indicate that before and during World War II, the economic model of crime could be applied to Japanese society; i.e., as legitimate opportunities narrowed (fewer jobs), illegitimate opportunities became more attractive (increased incentive for crime). Thus, from 1926 to 1945, apparently the events that ushered in unemployment may have had an impact on crime. In postwar Japan, however, different relationships between joblessness and crime emerged. Apparently, the postwar democracy, which fostered both adherence to traditional values and a social environment conducive to adaptation and transformation to capitalism, has been a useful tool for social control. The evidence indicates that after a lifetime of conditioning toward conformity to group norms, the postwar Japanese do not turn to criminal activity regardless of unemployment status. Postwar Japanese society is relatively free of criminal activity, regardless of economic hardship and strain. 1 table, 12 notes, and 115 references