A society that considered juvenile crime as it's own problem did once exist in postwar Japan. Did such society provide a breeding ground for juvenile crime, or did it serve as a deterrent?

Japan: Think of youth crime as your own problem

In the past, whenever atrocious crimes by adolescents and young adults shook postwar society, people looked upon such incidents as a problem that touched them, too.

For people older than myself, certain notorious cases spring to mind: that of Norio Nagayama, who was executed for killing four people in 1968; acts of terrorism by the Red Army, including the hijacking of a Japan Airlines passenger jet to Pyongyang, in 1970.

People of my generation typically remember cases. The serial murder of four young girls in 1988-1989 by Tsutomu Miyazaki, and Aum Shinrikyo's murderous rampage in the mid-1990s, also come to mind.

After a 14-year-old killed two primary school children, one was decapitated, in Kobe in 1999, teenagers seemed to be asking an impossible question to adults: Why is it wrong to kill people?

Since the answer is so obvious, adults were perplexed by the question. Even so, they tried to offer answers. As these adolescents mature, they surely will keep thinking about what they did and come up with answers to their own questions.

As a young man, I was shaken by Miyazaki's attacks on four young girls, just like everybody else of my generation. I sat in on all the trials and noticed a young man regularly among the other observers. The man had been a senior high school student at the time of the slayings. We were never introduced but acknowledged each other by exchanging nods as we took our seats in the gallery. Although I never learned the man's name, I heard during the 10-year trial process that he studied sociology in university and had since become a researcher. The man may not be in a position to discuss the case through the media, but his experience of attending the trials surely will help him contribute to society.

If each and every adult regards crimes by adolescent as our own personal problem, it would be the same as worrying about them as members of society at large.

People who commit crimes must be held legally responsible. The human rights of crime victims and their families must also be respected. But I find it disturbing that Japanese people, who used to commonly consider juvenile crimes a social problem that personally concerned them, no longer seem to have this attitude. Although the idea may sound old-fashioned, I still believe we, as responsible adults, must keep looking at juvenile crimes as a social problem.

The 12-year-old Nagasaki boy who allegedly battered and killed his 4-year-old victim was an elementary school student until March. Referring to the case, a state minister made the insensitive comment that “the parents (of the 12-year-old boy) should be dragged around the city and decapitated.”

Some sections of the media, which professes to respect the human rights of crime victims, were full of sensational reports on how the 4-year-old victim had apparently been sexually abused. Such reports disgrace the victim's dignity. Such behavior is unbefitting of responsible members of society.

When unfortunate incidents such as this occur, it is true that society is also damaged. It is feckless for adults to show delight in a state minister's ill-considered remarks, or to satisfy their curiosity through gory reports.

Since the problem is too grave for 12-year-olds to shoulder alone, adults should continue contemplating it, rather than contenting themselves with a gaffe made by a shortsighted politician. They should stand by adolescents and be ready to think with them as they grow up.

Adults in postwar generations traditionally contemplate the meaning of crimes committed by their contemporaries. They should be able to make use of their experience transcending generations.

Japanese society should recover its magnanimity to sincerely ponder the meaning of a crime committed by a 12-year-old. Only when it does this can society prevent such tragic incidents. Each time a juvenile crime occurs, some people will invariably blame postwar democracy for its shortcomings. This time is no exception. Statistically speaking, however, the rate of murders among young people in postwar Japan is extremely low compared with that in Western societies.

If it is true, however, that juvenile crimes have increased and become more brutal over the past few years, as has been said recently, why does this coincide with the period in which Japan altogether denied the postwar values which it used to stand by?

A society that considered juvenile crime as it's own problem did once exist in postwar Japan.

Did such society provide a breeding ground for juvenile crime, or did it serve as a deterrent? We should consider this point very carefully.

The author is a commentator and scenario writer of comics. He contributed this comment to The Asahi Shimbun. (IHT/Asahi: September 29,2003)
17 October 2003

http://www.asahi.com/english/op-ed/K2003092900236.html

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