PART 4 Trends in Juvenile Delinquency and Treatment of Juvenile Delinquents
Chapter 1 Trends in Juvenile Delinquency

In this part juvenile delinquency is used to refer to [1] offenses committed by juveniles aged 14 (minimum age for criminal responsibility) or older, [2] offenses (violation of laws and ordinances involving criminal punishment) committed by juveniles younger than 14, and [3] behaviors deemed likely to result in offenses in the future in light of their personal character or environment due to a tendency to disobey the reasonable supervision of guardians or association with other delinquents, etc. (pre-delinquencies) (See item 3, paragraph 1, Article 3 of the Juvenile Act).