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A Comparative Study of University Students' Perceptions Towards Crime in Japan and America

A Comparative Study of University Students' Perceptions Towards Crime in Japan and America. Kristin Szabo Spring ２０１３ Advisors ： Dr. Yoshiko Saito-Abbott Dr. Shigeko Sekine. Outline. 1. Significance of the Study 2. Research Questions 3. Research Background 4. Research Method

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A Comparative Study of University Students' Perceptions Towards Crime in Japan and America

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  1. A Comparative Study of University Students' Perceptions Towards Crime in Japan and America Kristin Szabo Spring ２０１３ Advisors： Dr. Yoshiko Saito-Abbott Dr. Shigeko Sekine

  2. Outline 1. Significance of the Study 2. Research Questions 3. Research Background 4. Research Method 5. Research Results 6. Findings 7. Conclusion 8. Discussion 9. Bibliography 10. Acknowledgments

  3. 1. Significance of the study • Japan is said to have a low crime rate when compared to the rest of the world -especially U.S • During my study abroad in Japan I felt safer than I ever had in the US and never witnessed a crime • People only seemed to talk about petty crimes. I wanted to know why people did not take more precaution with things

  4. 2. Research Questions 1. What impact does the level of safety have on university students from rural or urban settings? 2. How does crime affect university student’s perceptions of their community? 3. What precautions do Japanese and American university students take to avoid or prevent crime?

  5. 3. Research Outline a. Countries at a Glance b. Types of Crime Rates c. Japanese “koban” and Police d. Gun Control in Japan e. Gun Control in America f. Safety Precautions in Japan g. Safety Education

  6. a.Countries at a Glance (Country Watch, 2013) (BBC: Country Profiles, 2013)

  7. b. Types of Crime Rates ＊In a population of 100,000 (Stat.go.jp, 2010) (FBI.gov, 2012)

  8. c. Japanese “Koban” and Police Koban: A koban is a small police station, that houses several police officers in various places around a city. The police station exists to help protect and to guide lost people. (Wa-pedia, 2013) • Unlike in American, where the patrol car is the center of police activity, police activity in Japan centers on the koban. (keishicho.metro.tokyo.jp, 2013)

  9. d. Gun Control in Japan Swords and Firearms Control Law (Adopted March 10th 1958; Amended 1978、1993 & 1995 ) It is illegal to own a sword or firearms in Japan. However, if you have a license, you can have a hunting rifle, sword or shotgun, but most people do not have a license. ( (Bayley, 1976) “We don’t need guns”

  10. e. Gun Control in America Gun regulations are subject to State laws. According to the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution (1791) "A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." Guns cannot be outlawed completely. In recent years, because of frequent national news concerning shootings and other related gun fatalities, stricter gun laws have been advocated for. • 76% of Americans support gun control. (CNN/ORC, 2012)

  11. f. Safety Measures in Japan • Security Buzzer In case of an emergency, it is a small electronic device that is designed to emit a high-pitched noise in order to notify the police or anyone of danger. -A buzzer phone app is also available (Softbank, 2008) • Stun gun • Pepper Spray • Cell Phone • Martial Arts • Neighborhood Watch (Japan Today, 2008)

  12. g. Safety Education • In America and Japan, police and firemen officials, visit the school for safety education • Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) / Drug Abuse Prevention Center (DAPC) • “Safe Routes to School” program (SRTS)/Community Safety Maps • Both countries utilize slogans to spread messages about safety ☆ “ika no osushi”, “Don’t talk to strangers”, “Absolutely no good. (dame. zettai.)” (DARE, 2013) (DAPC, 2013) (SRTS, 2013) (岡山県警察, 2013)

  13. 4. Research Method • Participants: 62 • Japanese University Students 32 • Males 14, Females 18 • Ages 19-25 • American University Students 30 • Males 15, Females 15 • Ages 20-30 • Survey Tools: Googledocs, Facebook • English SurveyJapanese Survey

  14. 5. Research Results：Participants’ Ethnic Demographics

  15. Research Result: 1 Research Question 1 What impact does the level of safety have on university students from rural or urban settings?

  16. Safety Awareness: Community The Community where I live： Japan Both Japanese and American students feel safe where they live.

  17. Safety Awareness: Police Japan America Both countries think it is the police’s duty to protect people • Even with police, 53％ of Americans don’t feel safe • Because of police 57％ Japanese do feel safe

  18. Role of Community “Is your community active in protecting your neighborhood?” America Japan Yes Even though both countries think that it is the duty of the community to protect; both do not think they do No Neither 31%

  19. Crimes and Participants “In the past five years, were you or someone you know a victim of crime?” Friends Participants Serious crime America Petty crime Japan No Most Americans know someone who was a victim of crime

  20. Experiences of crime “Which crime were you or someone you know a victim of?” Robbery/theft Identity theft Fraud Attempted murder Gang-related Sexual crime Other Japan Arson America The most committed crime is theft in both countries

  21. Summary of Results: 1 • Both Japanese and American students feel safe where they live • Both Japanese and American students, agree it is the duty of everyone to protect one another, but feel that is not the case • Americans do not feel safe because of police presence • The biggest type of crime in both countries is theft

  22. Research Results: 2 Research Question 2 How does crime affect university student’s perceptions of their community?

  23. Perceptions of Community “If you see someone who is foreign or different ethnically/racially, do you feel unsafe?” Yes, very much Maybe Not at all Mostly America Japan Not Really 87% of Americans and 60% of Japanese feel safe being around someone who is a different ethnicity

  24. Feelings of Safety: Times

  25. Awareness of Safety America: 6am-10pm Americans feel safe Reasons：Police presence, they have never experienced crime, or they have a form of protection Japan: 6am-6pm Japanese feel safe Reasons：Police presence, they have never experienced crime, or they have never heard of any crime in the area

  26. Americans and Japanese: Feeling Unsafe Reasons：They could not protect themselves or Friends and Family told them it was “unsafe”.

  27. Summary of Results: 2 • Nearly 60% of Japanese people and nearly 90% of the American people feel safe around different races and ethnicities • Americans feel safe longer in the day than Japanese • When family or friends say that “it is not safe”, then students from both countries do not feel safe

  28. Research Results: 3 Research Question 3 What precautions do Japanese and American university students take to avoid or prevent crime?

  29. Perceptions of Guns “People should be able to have guns to protect themselves.” Strongly Disagree America Disagree Japan Neutral Agree Strongly Agree • 3 times more Japanese are against being in possession of guns. • 1/3 of American University students support guns.

  30. Crime Prevention Measures “If you carry some form of protection what is it?” Pepper Spray Knife America Gun Japan Pipe Other In both America and Japan, pepper spray is a major form of protection. Japan also listed stun guns and security buzzers.

  31. Safety Education “When did you learn about safety?” Both countries learned in the period from elementary school to high school

  32. Precaution Perceptions “What do you think influences you to be safe?” • Japan is influenced by the media • America is influenced by “family” and “nothing”

  33. Participants’ Safety Measures Survey Results

  34. Summary of Results: 3 • Both countries lock cars/bikes, travel in well-lit surroundings, and carry a cell phone for safety • Media is a big influence on Japan’s perception of safety • Americans said that “family” or “nothing” influenced them to take precautions

  35. Conclusion • In general, college students in either country are living safely • However, even though Japan has less experience with crime, their safety awareness is higher than Americans • It might be said the crime rate in Japan is lower than America because Japanese are taking more precautions • Precautions that Japanese and Americans take and their safety education is very similar • There is no deep relationship with education and cultural differences necessarily with the crime rate

  36. Discussion & Future Study • So as not to become a victim of crime, Japanese and American students take matters of safety into their own hands As this study was only intended for students of Okayama University and CSUMB, in order to achieve greater accuracy in results I would survey more Universities For future research, I would more precisely compare the safety of rural and urban areas, and want to try follow-up interviews as well

  37. 8. Bibliography APA A SITUATION OF CRIME GENERATION AND SELF-ANTICRIME ACTIVITIES ON THE NEIGHBORHOOD UNIT. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2013, from https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/aijt/16/33/16_33_705/_article CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. (n.d.-a). Retrieved May 2013, from http://www.cnn.com/ D.A.R.E. America. (n.d.). Retrieved May 2013, from http://www.dare.com/home/default.asp DAPC - Program. (n.d.). Retrieved May 2013, from Friman, H. R. (2001). Informal economies, immigrant entrepreneurship and drug crime in Japan. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 27(2), 313–333. doi:10.1080/13691830020041633 Haley, J. O. (1982). Sheathing the Sword of Justice in Japan: An Essay on Law without Sanctions. Journal of Japanese Studies, 8(2), 265–281.

  38. 8. Bibliography Hamai, K., & Ellis, T. (2006). Crime and criminal justice in modern Japan: From re-integrative shaming to popular punitivism. International Journal of the Sociology of Law, 34(3), 157–178. doi:10.1016/j.ijsl.2006.08.002 Hasegawa N. & Suzuki H. (2010) A SITUATION OF CRIME GENERATION AND SELF-ANTICRIME ACTIVITIES ON THE NEIGHBORHOOD UNIT. . Retrieved December 22, 2012, from (refer to English Paper) FBI — Homepage. (n.d.). Retrieved May 2013, from http://www.fbi.gov/?

  39. Japanese Firearm and Sword Possession Control Law: Translator’s Introduction, The - 9PacRimLPolyJ165.pdf. (n.d.). Retrieved from Jr tokai female staff issued pepper spray for self-defense. (2008, November 18).Japan Today. Retrieved from Kohara M. & Ohtake F. (2000).少年犯罪と労働市場：時系列および都道府県別パネル分析. Retrieved from Komiya, N. (1999). A cultural study of the low crime rate in Japan. British Journal of Criminology, 39(3), 369 –390. doi:10.1093/bjc/39.3.369 Konishi T. (2008).日本の経済犯罪におけるパラドックス. Retrieved from Maciamo. (n.d.). About Wa-pedia. Wa-Pedia. Retrieved May 2013, from Mount, S. (2010).Amendment 2..Retrieved from

  40. Merriman. (1991). Economic Analysis of the Post World War II Decline in the Japanese Crime Rate. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, Volume 7, Number 1 ＭＳＰゴシックＭＳＰゴシック明朝Nationmaster: Crime stats. (2012). Retrieved from National Center for Safe Routes to School. (n.d.). Retrieved May 2013, from Softbank. (2013). Retrieved from Tsushima, M. (1996). Economic structure and crime: The case of Japan. Journal of Socio-Economics, 25(4), 497–515. doi:10.1016/S1053-5357(96)90041-4 沓浬隆司&山鹿久木&水谷徳子&大竹文雄. (2007).犯罪発生の地域的要因と地価への影響に関. Retrieved from: 岡山県警察ホームページ. (n.d.). Retrieved May 2013, from http://www.pref.okayama.jp/kenkei/kenkei.htm 統計局ホームページ/Statistical Handbook of Japan. (n.d.). Retrieved May 2013, from http://www.stat.go.jp/data/handbook/index.htm 警視庁. (n.d.). Retrieved May 2013, from http://www.keishicho.metro.tokyo.jp/

  41. Acknowledgments Dr. Yoshiko Saito-Abbott Dr. Shigeko Sekine Gus Leonard Japanese exchange students WLC400 Students My Family Special thanks to: Takashi Yokoi, Masaki Iwai and Urara Enomoto

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