Japan as a Low-Crime Nation (2004)

Criminologists have despaired that modernization and crime are inseparable. The more modern we become, the more criminal. Japan has long been seen as an exception to the rule. The reasons for this, however, have not been well understood. In this book, the independent value of culture is explored to reveal new insights. The author finds that while it remains the case that crime reduction may come at some cost to individual autonomy, the 'West' can learn from Japan to reduce the social harm of too much freedom. Instead of endless crime prevention programs through 'social engineering', policy makers could pay more attention to sociological insights concerning responsibility, obligations and collective identities.