Crime in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

has been recorded since at least the 1800s, and has varied over time.

History

Before the

Meiji Era The was an Japanese era name, era of History of Japan, Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feu ...

, crime was handled often severely at a

daimyo were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominally to ...

level.

Yakuza

The yakuza existed in Japan well before the 1800s and followed codes similar to the

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

. Their early operations were usually close-knit, and the leader and his subordinates had father-son relationships. Although this traditional arrangement continues to exist, yakuza activities are increasingly replaced by modern types of gangs that depend on force and money as organizing concepts. Nonetheless, yakuza often picture themselves as saviors of traditional Japanese virtues in postwar society, sometimes forming ties with traditionalist groups espousing the same views and attracting citizens not satisfied with society. Yakuza groups in 1990 were estimated to number more than 3,300 and together contained more than 88,000 members. Although concentrated in the largest urban prefectures, yakuza operate in most cities and often receive protection from high-ranking officials. After concerted police pressure in the 1960s, smaller gangs either disappeared or began to consolidate in

syndicate A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies, corporations or entities formed to transact some specific business, to pursue or promote a shared interest. Etymology The word ''syndicate'' comes from the French word ''syndic ...

-type organizations. In 1990, three large syndicates (

Yamaguchi-gumi is Japan's largest ''yakuza'' organization. It is named after its founder Harukichi Yamaguchi. Its origins can be traced back to a loose labor union for longshoreman, dockworkers in Kobe before World War II. It is one of the largest organized cr ...

Sumiyoshi-kai The , sometimes referred to as the , is the second-largest yakuza group in Japan with an estimated 2,100 members. Outline Their territories mainly consist of upscale districts such as Kabukichō and Ginza. Shops operating in these territories ...

Inagawa-kai The is the third largest of Japan's yakuza groups, with approximately 1,600 members. It is based in the Kantō region, and was one of the first yakuza organizations to begin operating overseas. History The Inagawa-kai was founded in Atami, ...

) dominated organized crime in the nation and controlled more than 1,600 gangs and 42,000 gangsters. Their number has since swelled and shrunk, often coinciding with economic conditions. The yakuza tradition also spread to the

Okinawa Island , officially , is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands of Japan in the Kyushu region. It is the smallest and least populated of the five Japanese archipelago, main islands of Japan. The island is ...

in the 20th century. The Kyokuryu-kai and the Okinawa Kyokuryu-kai are the two largest known yakuza groups in

Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan. It consists of three main island groups—the Okinawa Islands, the Sakishima Islands, and the Daitō Islands—spread across a maritime zone approximately 1,000 kilometers east to west an ...

and both have been registered as designated bōryokudan groups under the Organized Crime Countermeasures Law since 1992."Outline of Boryokudan in Okinawa Prefecture"
, October 2007, '' Okinawa Prefectural

Police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

''
Yakuza leader Takeshi Ebisawa, pleaded guilty to trafficking nuclear material that had been smuggled through Myanmar for an illicit arms deal. The deal had involved military weaponry, including air-to-surface missiles. On 9 January 2025, Yakuza confessed in court to his involvement in the trafficking of nuclear material, including weapon-grade plutonium, as disclosed by U.S. Attorney Edward Kim.

Pseudo-Yakuza

Beginning in 2013, the

National Police Agency National Police may refer to the national police forces of several countries: *Afghanistan: Afghan National Police *Haiti: Haitian National Police *Canada: Royal Canadian Mounted Police *Colombia: National Police of Colombia *Cuba: National Revolut ...

re-classified the Chinese Dragons, Kanto Rengo, and '' bōsōzoku'' biker gangs as "pseudo-yakuza" organizations.

Statistics

In 1989 Japan experienced 1.3 robberies and 1.1 murders per 100,000 population.The Japanese Industrial System (De Gruyter Studies in Organization, 3rd Edition), Page 46 In the same year, Japanese authorities solved 75.9% of robberies and 95.9% of homicides. In 1990 the police identified over 2.2 million Penal Code violations. Two types of violations — larceny (65.1 percent of total violation) and negligent homicide or injury as a result of accidents (26.2%) — accounted for over 90 percent of criminal offenses. In 2002, the number of crimes recorded was 2,853,739. This number decreased to less than one-third by 2017 with 915,042 crimes being recorded. In 2013, the overall crime rate in Japan fell for the 11th straight year and the number of murders and attempted murders also fell to a

postwar A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war. The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II, which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, ...

low. As of 2012, on average there are two gun related homicides per year. According to the 2013 UNODC statistics, Japan's rate of intentional homicide per 100,000 population was one of the lowest in the world at 0.3 per 100,000 inhabitants.'
Global Study on Homicide 2013
'' (PDF full report). Published in April 2014, by

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC; French language, French: ''Office des Nations unies contre la drogue et le crime'') is a United Nations office that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention ...

(UNODC). See '
home page
'' for Global Study on Homicide. It will link to latest version. See 10 April 201
press release
See full report, and its methodological annex (pages 109ff) and statistical annex (pages 121ff) at the end of it. The statistical annex has detailed charts for homicide counts and rates by country with data from 2000–2012. Use the "rotate view" command in your PDF reader. Map 7.2 on page 112 is a world map showing the latest year available for homicide count for each country or territory. Page 21 states estimated total homicides of 437,000 worldwide. Figures 1.1 and 1.2 (pages 21 and 22) have exact rates and counts by regions. Figure 1.3 on page 23 is a bar chart of homicide rates for the subregions. Figure 1.16 on page 34 shows timeline graphs by subregion.

Immigration and crime

Crimes

Of particular concern to the police are crimes associated with

modernization Modernization theory or modernisation theory holds that as societies become more economically modernized, wealthier and more educated, their political institutions become increasingly liberal democratic and rationalist. The "classical" theories ...

. Increased wealth and technological sophistication has brought new

white collar crime The term "white-collar crime" refers to financially motivated, nonviolent or non-directly violent crime committed by individuals, businesses and government professionals. The crimes are believed to be committed by middle- or upper-class indivi ...

s, such as computer and

credit card fraud Credit card fraud is an inclusive term for fraud committed using a payment card, such as a credit card or debit card. The purpose may be to obtain goods or services or to make payment to another account, which is controlled by a criminal. The P ...

, larceny involving coin dispensers, and

insurance fraud Insurance fraud is any intentional act committed to deceive or mislead an insurance company during the application or claims process, or the wrongful denial of a legitimate claim by an insurance company. It occurs when a claimant knowingly attem ...

. Incidence of

drug abuse Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definitions ...

is minuscule, compared with other industrialized nations and limited mainly to

stimulant Stimulants (also known as central nervous system stimulants, or psychostimulants, or colloquially as uppers) are a class of drugs that increase alertness. They are used for various purposes, such as enhancing attention, motivation, cognition, ...

s. Japanese law enforcement authorities endeavor to control this problem by extensive coordination with international investigative organizations and stringent punishment of Japanese and foreign offenders. Traffic accidents and fatalities consume substantial law enforcement resources. There is also evidence of foreign criminals traveling from overseas to take advantage of Japan's lax security. In his autobiography ''Undesirables'', English criminal Colin Blaney stated that English thieves have targeted the nation due to the low crime rate and because Japanese people are unprepared for crime. Pakistani, Russian, Sri Lankan, and Burmese car theft gangs have also been known to target the nation.

Rape

Rape has been an issue in Japan since before industrialization. There have been criticisms regarding the lack of justice for and support of victims in the nation.

Sex Trafficking

Japanese and foreign women and girls have been victims of sex trafficking in Japan. They are raped in brothels and other locations and experience physical and psychological trauma.

Crime by region

is home to 74% of all US bases in the country and around 26 thousand military personnel. The prefecture saw from, 1972 to 2011, 5,747 criminal cases involving US military personnel, however during the same period the rest of Okinawa's populace had a crime rate more than twice as high — 69.7 crimes per 10,000 people, compared with 27.4 by U.S. military affiliated members. Local government and treaties, such as the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), have been viewed by some to turn a blind eye to crimes perpetrated by US forces, especially of this type and against women. Policies surrounding the punishment of these crimes and the protection of Okinawan women are few and far between, trials are most often handled by military courts-martial. State-led initiatives did not offer much to help face and punish these aggressions, civilians took matters into their own hands, in 1995 a group of women-led protests of over 85,000 people in the capital of the prefecture and started their own organization to protect themselves from these crimes: the Okinawa Women Act Against Military Violence. International actions were taken that same year, following the subsequent political discussion the organization created, the Special Action Committee of Okinawa with representatives from Washington, Okinawa, and Tokyo, decided on a referendum, whereby 21% of military occupied areas should be returned to Okinawa, in the hope of improving diplomatic relations. As Okinawa's importance continues to increase, as political tensions in the region rise, further compromisation by the US military to improve diplomatic relations with the prefecture and Tokyo, through policies to protect Okinawan women, and punish military criminals, can be expected.

References

*
Japan

External links

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