Recently, I have been thinking about the crime rate in Japan compared to that of African countries. Anyone from Nigeria who visits Japan will be positively surprised about the orderliness, the organization, and the low crime rate in that country. This is a very good thing that other countries should emulate. Some people have argued that crime rate is low in Japan because inequality is relatively low, compared to other countries.

It has also been said that illicit drug addiction is very low and that there are social safety programmes for the citizens that prevent the motivation for much petty crime. This is understandable. Although some people have a natural tendency to be criminals, if citizens are well treated, the rate of crime will be low. Japan does not have a particularly aggressive police force and does not sentence particularly harshly either, unlike other countries.

There are petty street crimes but violent crime, especially against strangers, is very rare. Drug crime is also a lot less common than in other countries, as stated above. However, Japan is not an exception when it comes to domestic violence and sex crimes, and likely white collar crime too. Also, shoplifting can be a problem among some teenagers and the elderly. Surprisingly, the elderly in Japan are responsible for a disproportionate amount of the crime.

Perhaps the Japanese police intentionally ignore some crimes. They choose to focus on maintaining the peace. But if you irritate them, you can get into a lot of trouble. And once they are convinced you are guilty and unrepentant, expect to be interviewed in jail for weeks. If they decide to prosecute, it’s likely you’ll get convicted. They don’t usually prosecute unless they feel you are guilty beyond reasonable doubt. It must be noted that crime rate is low in Japan not because policing or sentencing is harsh.

According to reports, as an individual walking around in Japan, you feel totally safe as a man and a lot safer than you would in other countries if you are a woman. It is also common to see children walking around freely on their own because they are secured. Occasional kidnappings and murders of children do occur but efforts are being stepped up to protect children for that reason. There are always warnings through the alert system about sightings of people who are possible threats to children.

Reports have also established that the Confucian system thoughts among the people is the main reason for the low crime rate. In Japan, as in other Confucian cultures, the old people are in charge, and the young people obediently follow what they say. The Japanese culture is not a rebellious culture. The old people keep the faith. They are not particularly Christians, but older people have lived their life and see what works and what doesn’t work. They have actually learned more than the younger generation.

The younger generation in places like Japan actually look to the older ones for moral guidance, and it will cause the crime rate to be lower and the morals to be higher. This is not the case in America where the older people look to the younger ones. This can actually come with some problems. American young people have a tendency to be rebellious. In fact, in many ways, the American culture encourages rebellion. They don’t believe in conformity like the Japanese. That could be one of the reasons for the high crime rate in America.

Hollywood is also guiding the American young people. And for generations and generations in America, Hollywood has had a bad reputation. The morals of Hollywood are becoming the morals of America because too many people look to Hollywood. There was a time that divorce was almost unheard of in America except for Hollywood, and they all expected those “evil” people in Hollywood to have several divorces in their lives. Everyone talked about and emulated celebrities who were known for their many divorces.

Today in America, divorce is considered a mild sin and almost everyone is doing it. Hollywood is also leading the American people down other roads that are worse. America is flooded with drugs. Drugs are drugs, and wherever they are, trouble is likely to follow even if the drug is legal. In our movies and in our news, they look for sensational stories to grab people’s attention to get better ratings. Some news stations have even been known to tweak the news to try to get more viewers.

In Japan, there are no guns in the hands of citizens to worry about. It will be difficult to take them away in America because too many bad people already have them. If you took them away, only bad people would still have guns. Japanese people still learn self control. They are a society of very self controlled people. Maybe America and other countries need to go back to the idea of the young listening to the old. We need to take a cue from the Japanese idea of “If it is right, do it.” and get away from “If it feels good, do it.”