Effective Police Administration: Criminal Investigations in Japan

Abstract

Japan has maintained a very low crime rate and a correspondingly high clearance rate for a long time, but recently the circumstances surrounding criminal investigation have been changing remarkably. In order to compare criminal investigations among the developed countries, it will be very informative to consider the situation in Japan. This article gives a brief introduction to the conditions for, and characteristics of, police criminal investigations in Japan. The first part explains the background to investigations, for example limited legal competence, the cooperative attitude of citizens and changing circumstances in recent times (the increase in the number of offences, new demands from the public and victim support). In the second part, the characteristics of police criminal investigations are noted, that is organised investigations, forensic investigations and countermeasures under the new criminal situation.