The Effects of Pacifist Norms on the Japanese Justice System
Abstract
The reliance on pacifist norms in Japan may have had irreparable effects on the country's ability to police organized crime. Japan's pacifist culture is due in no small part to its tumultuous history, but to fully understand the impact of pacifism on Japan's domestic police and legal institutions, we need to study the evolution of this society's criminal element over the last several decades and measure the effectiveness of the Japanese criminal justice system in countering it. This thesis focuses on how institutionalized norms of pacifism have been used in Japan, comparing and contrasting the Pre-World War II and Post-World War II periods. The thesis also will analyze the shift in these norms and Japanese society over the last few decades and determine if the social norms relied upon in the past can still be utilized by today's law enforcement agencies to maintain the country's relatively low crime rate, address newer conflicts of domestic and international terrorism, and manage the growth of organized crime within the state. From the statistics and information available for the past several decades, the thesis will evaluate how effective the Japanese justice system has been in responding to these new crime trends, and whether or not the reliance on pacifist norms has debilitated the county's ability to maintain law and order.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA563458
Entities
People
- Andrea J. Zenn
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School