7 Understanding of requirements in future life and rehabilitation

Lastly, the answers to the question that asked them to select up to three items that they considered important in their future life (14 selectable items, namely correcting life styles, financial management, sound pastimes/leisure, continued education/employment, acquisition of qualifications/skills, to be well-educated, following parents’ guidance, good family relationships, breaking associations with delinquent friends, apologizing to the victims, activities that are helpful to society, consulting with probation officers/volunteer probation officers, good conduct, and others) are examined. With juvenile delinquents the selection rate was high for “leading a regular life” (60.8%), “continue school/work without being absent” (51.8%), “not associating with delinquent friends or elders” (38.9%), “listening to parents” (28.4%), and with young offenders high for “leading a regular life” (55.6%), “continue school/work without being absent” (40.6%), “not wasting money“ (29.8%), “acquisition of licenses or skills” (28.5%), and “maintaining good family relationships” (26.3%). Correcting life styles, continued education/employment, and good family relationships were regarded as matters of importance to both juvenile delinquents and young offenders. With juvenile delinquents, in addition to these items, breaking associations with delinquent friends was regarded important. With young offenders the proportions of those that regarded financial management, acquisition of licenses/skills, and good family relationships to be important were relatively high, but that regarding breaking associations with delinquent friends to be important only around 1/4 (24.2%).

Examining these answers by history of protective measures revealed that the items with higher selection rates were common among both juvenile delinquents and young offenders, whereas the selection rate of “maintain good family relationships” was higher with juvenile delinquents with stronger delinquent tendencies (19.7% with those without a history of protective measures, 21.1% with those with a history of probation, and 27.8% with those with a history of commitment to a juvenile training school), with a reversed trend being observed for “listen to parents” (30.9%, 27.8%, and 13.9% (id.)). In addition, with those with a history of commitment to a juvenile training school the proportion of those that regarded consulting probation officers and volunteer probation officers to be important was high (9.1%, 23.3%, and 30.6% (id.)).

In contrast to this, with young offenders the proportion of those that regarded breaking associations with delinquent friends important was higher with those who had stronger delinquent tendencies from when they were juveniles (18.9% with those without a history of protective measures, 25.6% with those with a history of probation, and 30.7% with those with a history of commitment to a juvenile training school). In addition, the proportion of those that selected acquisition of licenses/skills was approximately 30% with those without a history of protective measures (30.5%) and those with a history of probation (33.3%) but only approximately 20% with those with a history of commitment to a juvenile training school (21.9%). The fact that many juveniles accommodated in juvenile training schools acquired qualifications and licenses through guidance in juvenile training schools is considered to have possibly affected these results.

The free description answers to the question asking the guidance and assistance required in future rehabilitation included a number of matters that were analyzed in this section. Many answered that the causes that led them to delinquencies and offenses were their own problems and making the effort to starting over again, including apologizing to the victims, etc. (for example, “Working hard wholeheartedly on what I have to do is important. I must honestly think about the level of damage caused to the victims and never forget that feeling.”), continuing/maintaining education/employment (for example, “Sure enough, working is the primary condition for not committing delinquencies or offenses. I want to therefore acquire licenses that will be useful after discharge and also plan to study something myself.”), fulfilling the role as a family member and making family ties stronger (for example, “I came to realize now that there were many people around me that worried and cared about me and the importance of taking care of children/parents and maintaining family ties”), and correcting life styles, including financial management, etc., and breaking association with delinquent friends (for example, “I want to rehabilitate myself by breaking away from associating with delinquent friends, challenging to many things with the help of my parents and relatives, and engaging in activities to dedicate to society.”), were important in rehabilitation. In addition, many listed the need for mental support, including someone to consult in case of difficulties or being discouraged (for example, “I will be all alone after breaking associations with delinquent friends and therefore the guidance that will help eliminate unstable factors in my future life and make me more positive minded is expected.”).