SOCIAL AND ECONOMICS FACTOR IN THE DYNAMICS OF CRIME IN JAPAN
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60153/ijesss.v1i3.231Keywords:
Japan, Social Factor, Economic Factor, CriminalityAbstract
This study looks at how social and economic factors have affected crime patterns in Japan over the past 20 years. It focuses on how changes in population, economy, and society have led to more minor crimes by the elderly and more serious crimes by young people. Using a qualitative method and secondary data from official reports and academic sources, the study aims to understand the social and economic reasons behind these crime changes. This study looks at how social and economic factors have affected crime in Japan over the last 20 years. Even though Japan has low crime rates, changes like an aging population and economic problems such as income gaps and job insecurity have caused crime patterns to change. This study uses a qualitative descriptive method with secondary data from crime reports, census data, and academic articles. The data from the last 20 years are analyzed by looking for common themes related to social and economic factors affecting crime. The findings show that more elderly people are involved in minor crimes due to social isolation and financial difficulties. Meanwhile, economic pressure and social breakdown among young people lead to more serious crimes like cybercrime and domestic violence. The Japanese government has made policies to address these issues, but a broader approach that includes social, economic, and psychological aspects is needed for better crime prevention. This study highlights the need to understand crime as a complex social problem to develop lasting and flexible policies that adapt to social changes.
Downloads
References
Aoki, H. (2022). Fictionalized Violence and Criminality: Re-evaluating the Burakumin of Japan.
Asahi, T., & Nakamura, H. (2021). Elderly crime and social isolation in Japan: A sociological perspective. Journal of Asian Criminology, 16(2), 145–162. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11417-020-09307-5
Baradel, M. (2021). The rise of shaming paternalism in Japan: recent tendencies in the Japanese criminal justice system. Trends in Organized Crime, 24(1), 23-41.
Chen, Y., & Saito, T. (2022). Economic insecurity and its impact on youth crime in Japan. International Journal of Social Economics, 49(3), 403–420. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-08-2021-0702
Furukawa, H., & Miyamoto, Y. (2020). Cybercrime trends among Japanese adolescents: The role of digital literacy. Computers in Human Behavior, 105, 106218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.106218
Green, D., Mitsui, M., Lee, J., Bandara, D., & Gansukh, B. (2025, June). The immigrant-crime nexus in Japan: a prefectural analysis of immigration and crime rates. In Japan Forum (pp. 1-26). Routledge.
Hamada, Y. (2021). Aging population and crime rates in Japan: Policy implications. Japan Public Policy Review, 34(1), 79–95. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2021.1879200
Ibusuki, M. (2019). On implementing a therapeutic jurisprudence-based criminal justice system in Japan. International journal of law and psychiatry, 63, 63-67.
Japan National Police Agency. (2023). Annual crime statistics report 2022. https://www.npa.go.jp/english/statistics/2022.html
Johnson, D. T., & Vanoverbeke, D. (2020). The limits of change in Japanese criminal justice. Zeitschrift für Japanisches Recht, 25(49), 109-165.
Kato, K., & Suzuki, M. (2021). Social welfare policies and crime prevention: A case study from Japan. Social Policy & Administration, 55(4), 687–701. https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.12695
Kimura, T., & Watanabe, K. (2022). Labor market instability and its effects on crime in urban Japan. Asian Economic Papers, 21(1), 34–52. https://doi.org/10.1162/asep_a_00933
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan. (2023). Annual social welfare report 2022. https://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/database/db-hss/dl/report_2022.pdf
Mukai, T., Brewster, D., Matsuki, Y., & Watamura, E. (2025). Comparing criminal justice participation between Japan and the United States. International Criminology, 1-14.
Nakamoto, K., & Yamaguchi, S. (2020). Family disintegration and juvenile delinquency in Japan. Journal of Family Studies, 26(3), 254–270. https://doi.org/10.1080/13229400.2020.1712349
Nishimura, A., & Takahashi, N. (2021). Economic inequality and its relationship with crime rates in Japanese cities. Urban Studies Journal, 58(6), 1245–1262. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098020970458
OECD. (2023). Japan country report 2023: Social and economic indicators. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/9876543210
Saito, Y. (2020). Mental health support and crime prevention among at-risk youth in Japan. International Journal of Mental Health, 49(1), 20–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207411.2019.1641325
Tanaka, R., & Ogawa, M. (2022). Community policing effectiveness in Japanese neighborhoods. Policing: An International Journal, 45(2), 345–360. https://doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-08-2021-0115
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). (2023). Global study on crime and criminal justice: Japan country profile. https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/country-profiles/Japan.pdf
Vanoverbeke, D. (2022). Protecting the script of the Japanese criminal justice system. Law & Social Inquiry, 47(2), 734-740.
Yoshioka, T., & Fukuda, K. (2021). Social isolation, aging, and crime: Challenges in Japanese society. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 64(5), 464–480. https://doi.org/10.1080/01634372.2021.1890732
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Haruto Saito, Daiki Kobayashi, Zhang Ming (Author)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.










