A Comparative Study of University Students' Perceptions Towards Crime in Japan and America
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A Comparative Study of University Students' Perceptions Towards Crime in Japan and America
Kristin SzaboKristin SzaboSpring 2013
Advisors:Dr. Yoshiko Saito-Abbott
Dr. Shigeko Sekine
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OutlineOutline1. Significance of the Study2. Research Questions3. Research Background 4. Research Method5. Research Results6. Findings7. Conclusion8. Discussion9. Bibliography10. Acknowledgments
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1. 1. Significance of the studySignificance of the study• Japan is said to have a low crime rate when compared to Japan is said to have a low crime rate when compared to
the rest of the world -especially U.Sthe rest of the world -especially U.S
• During my study abroad in Japan I felt safer than I ever During my study abroad in Japan I felt safer than I ever had in the US and never witnessed a crimehad in the US and never witnessed a crime
• People only seemed to talk about petty crimes. I wanted People only seemed to talk about petty crimes. I wanted to know why people did not take more precaution with to know why people did not take more precaution with thingsthings
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2. Research Questions2. Research Questions1. What impact does the level of safety have on university 1. What impact does the level of safety have on university students from rural or urban settings?students from rural or urban settings?
2. How does crime affect university student’s perceptions of 2. How does crime affect university student’s perceptions of their community?their community?
3. What precautions do Japanese and American university 3. What precautions do Japanese and American university students take to avoid or prevent crime?students take to avoid or prevent crime?
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3. Research Outline3. Research Outline
a. Countries at a Glanceb. Types of Crime Ratesc. Japanese “koban” and Policed. Gun Control in Japane. Gun Control in Americaf. Safety Precautions in Japang. Safety Education
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a.a. Countries at a Glance Information Japan America
Population: 1.285 million 3.13 million
Area: 145 sq. miles 380 sq. miles
Crime Rate: 15.2% 21.1%
Differences in Race and Ethnicity:
Japanese 99% ,Other 1%
European 84%,African 12%,Asian 3%,Native American 1%
(Country Watch, 2013)
(BBC: Country Profiles, 2013)
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Types of crime:
America Japan
Homicide 4.7 .94
Rape 26.8 1.38
Burglary 113.7 3.53
Assault 241.1 24.26
Larceny 1,976.9 1,119.16
* In a population of 100,000
b. b. Types of Crime Rates
(Stat.go.jp, 2010)(FBI.gov, 2012)
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c. c. Japanese “Koban” and PoliceKoban: 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)
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d. d. Gun Control in Japan
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)
Swords and Firearms Control Law (Adopted March 10th 1958; Amended
1978 、 1993 & 1995 )
“We don’t need guns”
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e. Gun Control in AmericaGun 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)
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f. 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
• Stun gun• Pepper Spray• Cell Phone• Martial Arts• Neighborhood Watch
(Softbank, 2008)
(Japan Today, 2008)
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g. 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)
(岡山県警察 , 2013)(SRTS, 2013)
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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 Survey Japanese Survey
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5. Research Results : Participants’ Ethnic Demographics
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Research Result: 1
Research Question 1What impact does the level of safety have on university students from rural or urban settings?
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Safety Awareness: Community
Both Japanese and American students feel safe where they live.
The Community where I live :
Japan
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Safety Awareness: Police
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
Japan America
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Role of Community
Even though both countries think that it is the duty of the community to protect; both do not think they do
10%
53%
37%
アメリカ
31%
31%
37%
日本はい
いいえ
中性
“Is your community active in protecting your neighborhood?”
Yes
No
Neither
31%
America Japan
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Crimes and Participants
Most Americans know someone who was a victim of crime
0% 50% 100%
日本
アメリカ
“In the past five years, were you or someone you know a victim of crime?”
0% 50% 100%
Friends Participants
Serious crime
Petty crime
No
America
Japan
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The most committed crime is theft in both countries
0% 50% 100%
アメリカ
日本
Experiences of crime
Robbery/theftIdentity theft
FraudAttempted murder
Gang-relatedSexual crime
Other
Arson
“Which crime were you or someone you know a victim of?”
America
Japan
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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
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Research Question 2How does crime affect university student’s perceptions of their community?
Research Results: 2
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Perceptions of Community
0% 50% 100%
日本 アメリカ
87% of Americans and 60% of Japanese feel safe being around someone who is a different ethnicity
“If you see someone who is foreign or different ethnically/racially, do you feel unsafe?”
Maybe
Not at all
Mostly
Yes, very much
Not Really
AmericaJapan
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Feelings of Safety: Times
Times feel safe:
America
Japan
Yes No Neutral Yes No Neutr
al
6:00 – 12:00
86% 7% 7% 91% 0% 9%
12:00 – 6:00
86% 3% 10% 84% 0% 16%
6:00 -10:00
67% 10% 23% 35% 50% 16%
10:00 – 2:00
30% 33% 27% 6% 79% 16%
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Awareness of SafetyAmerica: 6am-10pm Americans feel safeReasons : Police presence, they have never experienced
crime, or they have a form of protection
Japan: 6am-6pm Japanese feel safeReasons : Police presence, they have never experienced
crime, or they have never heard of any crime in the area
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Reasons : They could not protect themselves or Friends and Family told them it was “unsafe”.
Americans and Japanese: Feeling Unsafe
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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
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Research Results: 3
Research Question 3What precautions do Japanese and American university students
take to avoid or prevent crime?
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Perceptions of Guns
0% 50% 100%
JapanUS
• 3 times more Japanese are against being in possession of guns.• 1/3 of American University students support guns.
“People should be able to have guns to protect themselves.”
Strongly Disagree
DisagreeNeutral
AgreeStrongly Agree
AmericaJapan
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Crime Prevention Measures
0% 50% 100%
Japan
US
In both America and Japan, pepper spray is a major form of protection. Japan also listed stun guns and security buzzers.
“If you carry some form of protection what is it?”
Pepper SprayKnifeGun
Pipe
AmericaJapan
Other
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Safety Education
Both countries learned in the period from elementary school to high school
“When did you learn about safety?”
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• Japan is influenced by the media • America is influenced by “family” and “nothing”
“What do you think influences you to be safe?”
Precaution Perceptions
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Survey ResultsParticipants’ Safety Measures
Japan America
1. Cellphone 1. Cellphone
2. Well-lit surroundings
2. Surroundings
3. Lock windows/doors/bike
3. Lock doors/car
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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
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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
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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
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8. BibliographyAPA
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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.
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8. Bibliography
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doi:10.1016/j.ijsl.2006.08.002
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Japanese Firearm and Sword Possession Control Law: Translator’s Introduction, The - 9PacRimLPolyJ165.pdf. (n.d.). Retrieved
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Merriman. (1991). Economic Analysis of the Post World War II Decline in the Japanese Crime Rate. Journal of Quantitative
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Acknowledgments
Dr. Yoshiko Saito-AbbottDr. Shigeko SekineGus LeonardJapanese exchange studentsWLC400 StudentsMy Family
Special thanks to:Takashi Yokoi, Masaki Iwai and Urara Enomoto