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.
  Four countries have been selected for comparison. They are, France, Germany, the United Kingdom (limited to England and Wales only; hereinafter referred to as the "U.K." in this chapter), and the United States of America.
  We will compare trends in the number of reported cases, the crime rate, and the clearance rate as for the major offenses, homicide and larceny in between the 4 countries and Japan.
  Major offenses include:
France: Felony and misdemeanor (crime et delit) excluding traffic offenses etc.;
Germany: Felony and misdemeanor (Straftat) excluding traffic offenses etc.;
U.K.: Notifiable offense (offense obligated to report for police to Home Office);
U.S.A.: Crime Index offense excluding arson (estimate);
Japan: Penal Code offenses excluding professional negligence in traffic accidents.
  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 an offense) differ between the respective countries, while the methods of gathering statistics also vary. For these reasons, it is difficult to make accurate comparisons or studies. However, gaining a general grasp of crime trends in the various countries, through comparing statistical figures in Japan with those in other countries is considered beneficial to understand the crime trends in Japan from an international perspective.