In this chapter, we will give an overview of crime trends in other countries based on official statistics obtained, in order to grasp the characteristics of crime trends in Japan.
  4 countries have been selected for comparison. They are, France, Germany, the United Kingdom (limited to England and Wales only; hereinafter referred to as "U.K." in this chapter), and the United States of America. With the unification of East and West Germany, crimes occurring in the former territories of the German Democratic Republic since 1993 are included in the total for Germany.
  As for the major offenses (see Table 1-4-1-1 , Note 1 for types of offense), homicide and larceny, we will compare trends in the number of reported cases, the crime rate, and the clearance rate between Japan and the 4 countries.
  It goes without saying that crime trends should not be immediately determined only from the number of reported cases, etc. for specific crimes. Moreover, the scope of what is considered a crime and the constituent elements of a crime (factors and conditions for regarding an act as an offense) differ in Japan and the respective countries, while the methods of gathering statistics also vary. For these reasons, it is difficult to make accurate comparisons or studies.
  However, as well as gaining a general grasp of crime trends in the various countries, comparing statistical figures in Japan with those in other countries is considered beneficial in analyzing crime trends in Japan from an international perspective.