This white paper aims to review the actual circumstances of the trend of crime and the treatment of offenders covering the first year of the 21st century, the year 2001. At the same time, following last year's report on "Increasing Offenses and Offenders", an attempt is made to examine and analyze the characteristics of some of the crimes in a section called "Present Situation and Trend of Offenses of Violent Nature". Among those crimes that have increased notably in recent years, we have chosen 9 familiar crimes as focal subjects of our study. They are robbery, bodily injury, assault, intimidation, extortion, rape, indecent assault, breaking and entering, and destruction of objects.
  The number of reported cases of penal code offenses exceeded 3,580,000 cases in 2001, having continued to rewrite postwar highs every year since 1996. As for the number of penal code offenses excluding professional negligence in traffic accidents, the reported cases exceeded 2,730,000. On the other hand, the clearance rate was less than 20% for the first time. The low clearance rates of larceny and destruction of objects, which consist of about 86% and 5% of the total number of penal code offences excluding professional negligence in traffic accidents respectively, seem to bring down the overall clearance rate. Since non-reported cases of robbery are thought to be few, the decrease in the clearance rate of robbery especially casts a great concern over the public safety. Having these criminal situations as background, public perceptions about security are becoming somber, and the number of people with concerns about public security in Japan seems to be mounting.
  It is true, however, that Japan's number of reported cases of major offenses and crime rates are both the lowest when compared with other major western countries based on available data up to the year 2000, and therefore, this country is still considered to be one of the safest countries. Nevertheless, the rapid decline in the clearance rate can be an omen of threat to public safety, and one should never be too optimistic.
  Although it is not easy to identify the cause of a crime, it is safe to assume that several factors are intertwined to make up the current trends, such as the change in the social environment and the influence of economic and international situations. Since the end of the bubble economy between the end of the Showa era and the beginning of the Heisei era, Japan fell into economic recession, and this recession has lasted for more than 10 years. In the meantime, Japan witnessed the fall of big enterprises, the collapse of financial institutions, intensified business restructuring and rises in the unemployment rate, none of which we had ever imagined could happen during the period of rapid economic growth. The recent crime situation of Japan seems to be closely related to these social and economic factors.
  Taking a look at the characteristics of the crime trend in recent years, crimes have become less regional with the occurrence of crime spreading over the country. We are also concerned about the fact that we see not only those people with previous convictions or criminal history, but also more ordinary people committing crimes. We regard the following aspects as the attributes of these phenomena. Education both at home and at schools does not fulfill its function well. Social ethics have deteriorated. There is lack of a traditional sense of solidarity in the local community, which used to function as a deterrent to crime in Japan.
  In light of these factors, it is important to establish a system where the public and private sectors cooperate together to make the prevention of crime more effective, in addition to ensuring a more rigorous measures against crime by public authorities. In order to do so, it is critical to make every effort to maintain the public safety by facilitating collaboration and mutual understanding among criminal justice agencies and private organizations for the prevention of crime, and local communities.
  It would be our great pleasure if this white paper could contribute, even a little, to taking effective and appropriate measures for criminal policy concerning the prevention of crime and the treatment of offenders.
  Furthermore, in order to make it as easy as possible for anyone to access to this white paper, we employ many multicolored figures and graphs. Also, in order to provide convenience for researchers, we have recorded the full volume of the text on CD-ROM. As for the figures, Excel tables appear automatically on clicking a graph icon in the text, and the raw figures are made available.
  Lastly, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the General Secretariat of the Supreme Court of Japan, National Police Agency, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and other institutions for their enormous cooperation in the preparation of this white paper.
November 2002
UEDA  Koichi   PresidentResearch and Training Institute Ministry of Justice Japan
  This White Paper was undertaken during Mr. Koichi Ueda's presidency at the Research and Training Institute of the Ministry of Justice, Japan, and thereafter, Mr. Ueda has been promoted to Chief Prosecutor of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office. Mr. Rokuro Tsuruta is the current President of the Institute.
November 2003
TSURUTA  Rokuro   PresidentResearch and Training Institute Ministry of Justice Japan