1.In the1981White Paper on Crime which featured juvenile delinquency,international comparison of trends in juvenile delinquency between Japan and Western countries was attempted.As a result,even in the early1980s when the amount of juvenile delinquency of the postwar period in Japan was approaching its peak,as far as statistics showed,the number compared to Western countries still remained at a low level.The White Paper stated the reasons for this as"reflecting the reality of Japan whose crime rate is low and which has well-maintained public peace,"and"owing to social and cultural characteristics intrinsic to Japan,such as ethnic and cultural homogeneity,a sense of solidarity of social groups as seen in family or local community,development in economy and increase in employment opportunities,high-level education and equal opportunity in education,diligence and motivation oriented for upper careers of the people,and overall social stability."From this,even at the time of juvenile delinquency at its peak,we can infer the presence of a"sense of safety"that juvenile delinquency could still be controlled at a low level through social and cultural characteristics intrinsic to Japan,as compared to Western countries.
  However,we also need to take heed of the fact that the White Paper pointed out,"From the perspective of the actual situations of recent juvenile delinquency,it appears that the aforesaid social and cultural characteristics intrinsic to Japan will be forced to transform along with the present social changes."and expressed strong apprehensions for the future.
2.Last year's2004White Paper on Crime pointed out that,in many ways,the crime deterrent function inherent in society itself is decreasing,and that over the last30years Japanese society has greatly changed from the"peaceful days"in the past to the present"crime frequency society,"resulting from such factors as a diversification of a sense of values and the way of living of the nation's people,attenuation of family bonds and a sense of common bonds of local communities,etc.
  The environment surrounding juveniles has also changed greatly,and through rapid progress such as transformation into a consumption society and computerization,juveniles are forced to incorporate into the adult world as a member of consumer society,and strongly exposed to stimulation and allurement to seek material satisfaction of their needs.Furthermore,in line with violent fluctuations of the economic environment,diversification and increasing mobility in employment has progressed with an increase in non full-time employment and job changing.
  These social changes have transformed the conventional social and cultural characteristics of Japanese society that used to work as a crime deterrent function,and have created new problems such as delay in social independence of juveniles.In addition to this,sporadic peculiar heinous crimes by juveniles have captured the attention of society,causing widespread anxiety among the public.
3.Taking these situations into account,we felt that it is important to analyze the trend of juvenile delinquency and disposition of juvenile delinquents of Japan in this Paper's special article first.
  According to the number of juveniles cleared for penal code offenses and their rate per population(See Part4,Chapter2,Section1-1 ),the present situation of juvenile delinquency in Japan is at a high level,second to the level of the first half of the1980s,and quantitatively,the situation does not allow premature conclusions.
  Further,in the qualitative analysis of juvenile delinquents based on the surveys conducted by the Research and Training Institute of Ministry of Justice,growing problems were pointed out regarding juveniles'disposition,such as lacking in consideration for other people,their interpersonal relations trying to stay in a narrow human relationship where they can be dependent,and an increase in the number of parents who lack in abilities for leadership.Based on these points,we pointed out the importance of(1)treatment that nurtures sympathy for other people's pains,(2)treatment that utilizes a group setting,and(3)approaches that urge voluntary actions by the parents.
4.One of aims of this Paper's special article is to explain,as clearly as possible,how criminal justice responds to these quantitative and qualitative changes in juvenile delinquents,and to provide useful information for the general public.
  We took up various concrete data to explain how the whole picture of juvenile cases are solved,what kind of disposition is made,what kind of treatment is provided for juveniles placed under protective measures or criminal disposition in correctional institutions or in society,and what kind of approaches are taken to juveniles'guardians by criminal justice,respectively,in order to rehabilitate juveniles from delinquency who will lead the next generation.Furthermore,we also introduced the trends concerning juvenile delinquency in foreign countries and the judicial system related to juvenile delinquency.
5.Juvenile delinquency taken up in this Paper's special article has attracted people's attention and is one of the most important issues in the current criminal policies.In order to deal with the current situation of juvenile delinquency more appropriately,discussions on the juvenile law system have been underway,as seen by the fact that a bill to amend the part of the Juvenile Law,which would make it possible to commit juveniles under14to juvenile training schools,was submitted to the Diet in March2006.The Amended Juvenile Law of2000stipulated that the government should report the situation of its enforcement to the Diet and conduct a deliberation when five years have passed since the enforcement.We considered it very significant to review how this Law has been enforced in these four years.
  Therefore,this Paper's special article clarified the actual status of cases and treatment for serious juvenile delinquents who had killed victims by way of intentional criminal acts,based on the results of the surveys conducted by the Research and Training Institute of the Ministry of Justice.These survey results are expected to be used as the basic data for discussions on the judicial system for juveniles.
6.Juvenile delinquency is caused by various complexly intertwined problems in families,schools and local communities.It is also an undeniable reality that there are guardians who only impose their own interest and desire on their children,and adults who utilize juveniles and induce them to commit crimes.Many juvenile delinquents drop out of school at early stages due to academic failure or being bullied,can not blend in well with local communities and strengthen ties with friends in similar circumstances,only to be led into delinquency.Thus,their lack of feeling of belonging to schools or local communities seems to be a significant problem.
  Therefore,adults have to face and reflect on the fact that juvenile delinquency is the reflection of problems of roles that families,schools,and local communities should play.At the same time,we should contrive measures to prevent delinquency by making juveniles have a feeling of belonging to society.The prevention of juvenile delinquency and rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents cannot be completed only by efforts within the framework of criminal justice.Juvenile delinquents are given the opportunity to rehabilitate in the criminal justice system,however it is only the first step for rehabilitation and they have to return to the families and local communities to bounce back from delinquency on their own and become independent in the end.Local communities are required to positively accept juveniles who reflect on their past behavior and try to get back on course,newly finding their place in local communities.It is an important role and responsibility for adults to encourage juveniles to have and sustain their willingness to live together with people in local communities.For that purpose,it is deemed that not only organizations specialized in the treatment of juvenile delinquents,but also related organizations and agencies need to cooperate with each other in an organized manner and work with local communities to promote comprehensive countermeasures for juvenile delinquency.
  7.At present,policies to foster juveniles who will lead the next generation have been reviewed widely,and various efforts have been made in each field.This Paper's special article presented,as concretely as possible,what kinds of approaches have been taken by correction or rehabilitation-related organizations for juveniles who had committed delinquency.Through presenting the current efforts made by organizations specialized in the treatment of juvenile delinquents to the general public as clearly as possible,we hope that this White Paper could help the whole of the general public consider,as their own issues,what is necessary for bringing up sound juveniles,and advance various efforts for preventing juvenile delinquency and rehabilitating juvenile delinquents in local communities.