Understanding the criminal justice system of other countries provides valuable information, which can be used by a country as a way of reducing crime. A country’s approach to crime prevention may be ineffective due to lack of considering social factors that play an crucial role. Foreigners who visit foreign nations need to be aware of the extent of their rights especially in countries that have a different national language. Additionally, understanding the criminal justice of other countries allows the one’s country to improve on certain aspects of its criminal justice system. The foreign country of interest is Japan, and this is attributed to its low crime rates unlike in the United States where crime is ever increasing.
Japan has a different crime rate than United States. The advent of industrialization has resulted to an increase in the crime rate in United States whereas crime rate in Japan has declined considerably. Police in the United States have a different approach towards crime compared to the police force in Japan. According to Dammer and Albanese (2010), the police in Japan place minimal emphasis on the individual rights and utilize cultural norms to restore social order. In the United States, the police is more focused on using a citizen approach and emphasize on using the community as a way of preventing crime. A fascinating matter regarding the criminal justice system in Japan is their prison rates are low. In Japan, there is less use of incarceration of offenders. Prisons are only used to incarcerate the hardcore criminals, and this is only used as the last resort. In the United States, there is the ever increasing the rate of imprisonment and more and more prisons are being constructed.
Additionally, the police in Japan maintain a close surveillance of the population, which helps in curbing the crimes. However, when it comes to a foreigner committing a crime in Japan, it is vital to have a translator to be able to understand the legal procedures that will be required. In Japan, first time juvenile offenders are normally put through the criminal justice system as a way of curbing future delinquent behavior, whereas in the states first time juvenile offenders are normally given warnings. The same case applies to adult offenders. First time offenders who go through the criminal system are less likely to commit crime again since they understand and know what is at stake. However, for individuals who are normally given warnings chances are they will commit an offence and this contributes to the increasing crime rate in America.
According to Gottlieb (2012), the Japan’s Standards for Criminal Investigations indicate that any arrest warrant should come attached with a translation. However, this is not normally the case, and this then necessitates the need to have a translator who will be able to interpret the language. The reason of writing the warrants in Japanese is to ensure that foreigners are not fully aware of the reasons of the arrest.
The court system in Japan has some similarities with the court system in America. This is especially the case in trial cases. According to Cole, Smith, and DeJong (2012), Japan, in 2009, introduced the jury system into their courts. This is essential since it prevents the government from oppressing the citizens and in this case the foreigners.
References
Cole, G., Smith, C., & DeJong, C. (2012). The American System of Criminal Justice. Belmont:
Cengage Learning.
Dammer, H. R., & Albanese, J. S. (2011). Comparative criminal justice systems (4th Ed.).
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Gottlieb, N. (2012). Language policy in Japan: the challenge of change. Cambridge: Cambridge
