A recent Cabinet Office Japan survey into public order, much to my surprise found that the populace no longer pinned the blame for Japan’s ills on foreigners, even when compared to the same survey three and six years ago.
Demographics
Between the 5th and 15th of July 2012 3,000 randomly-selected Japanese citizens were selected from resident rolls and approached for face-to-face interviews. 1,956 people agreed to take part, but a further demographic breakdown was not provided.
I’m not really sure why the figures for fear of foreigners have changes so dramatically for the better in the last six years, and I’m not sure how I would go about finding out the reason behind it. However, it does also seem clear that the new bogeyman is Reefer Madness, especially as round about the time of the survey there was no end of stories about a current social problem of legal highs, dubious cannabinoid derivatives sold as incence in a multitude of shops in Japan’s big cities.
Research results
Q1: Do you think Japan currently has good public order and is a safe and secure country to live in? (Sample size=1,956)
| Think so |
14.7% |
| Somewhat think so |
45.0% |
| Don’t really think so |
25.4% |
| Don’t think so |
14.0% |
| Don’t know |
0.9% |
Q2: Within the last 10 years do you think that public safety in Japan has improved or got worse? (Sample size=1,956)
| Become better |
2.5% |
| Become somewhat better |
13.3% |
| Become somewhat worse (to SQ) |
52.6% |
| Become worse (to SQ) |
28.6% |
| Don’t know |
3.1 |
Q2SQ: What do you think are the causes of worsening public order? (Sample size=1,587, mutliple answer)
| Sense of local solidarity has weakened |
54.9% |
| Economic outlook has worsened |
47.4% |
| Various information that people can easily get their hands on has flooded in |
44.7% |
| Child and youth education is insufficient |
43.8% |
| Citizens’ respect for social norms has weakened |
42.8% |
| Punishment for crimes is light |
29.1% |
| Crime by foreigners in Japan has increased |
28.2% |
| Few uniformed officers in police boxes (koban), on patrol, etc |
17.6% |
| Police crackdowns have been insufficient |
17.3% |
| Organised crime (yakusa, etc) has increased |
13.5% |
| Other |
2.1% |
| Don’t know |
0.7% |
Q3: At which locations do you worry that you or those close to you might fall victim to crime? (Sample size=1,956, multiple answer)
| Shopping districts |
53.7% |
| On the street |
53.6% |
| Cyberspace |
41.9% |
| Public parks |
36.6% |
| Car, bicycle parks |
27.0% |
| Railway stations |
26.8% |
| In trains, aircraft or other transport |
25.2% |
| Lifts |
23.0% |
| At home |
13.0% |
| Other |
0.4% |
| Nowhere in particular |
6.0% |
| Don’t know |
0.7% |
Q4: What sorts of crime do you worry that you or those close to you might fall victim to? (Sample size=1,956, multiple answer)
| Housebreaking |
51.1% |
| Pick-pockets, purse snatchers |
49.4% |
| Violent assault |
45.3% |
| Drunk-driving traffic accidents, hit-and-runs and other traffic dangers |
45.1% |
| Fraudulent sales or money-forwarding schemes |
43.4% |
| Internet crime |
42.3% |
| Theft of or from motor vehicles |
39.7% |
| Abduction of children, etc |
31.3% |
| Groping or other sexual assault |
31.3% |
| Murder, violent robbers |
31.2% |
| Stalking |
24.8% |
| Drug sales, drug abuse, drug-fuelled crime |
21.9% |
| Bosozoku bike gang dangerous riding, noise pollution, etc |
18.6% |
| Loan-sharking |
16.1% |
| Other |
0.4% |
| None in particular |
4,3% |
| Don’t know |
0.6% |
Q5: To what kinds of individuals or organisations do you worry that you or those close to you might fall victim to? (Sample size=1,956, multiple answer)
| Emotionally unstable or random slashers, etc |
61.0% |
| Habitual criminals; thieves, etc |
42.6% |
| Bosozoku or juvenile delinquent gangs |
34.6% |
| Yakusa and other organised crime |
33.3% |
| Drug dealers or users |
27.7% |
| Foreign crime gangs and illegal immigrants |
25.5% |
| International terrorist organisations or international terrorists |
9.9% |
| Other |
0.3% |
| None in particular |
10.2% |
| Don’t know |
2.0% |
Q6: What sorts of crimes should the police focus their effort upon? (Sample size=1,956, multiple answer)
| Drunk-driving traffic accidents, hit-and-runs and other dangerous driving |
54.3% |
| Murders, violent robbery |
50.1% |
| Violent assaults |
47.3% |
| Abduction of children, etc |
44.3% |
| Fraudulent sales or money-forwarding schemes |
43.2% |
| Housebreaking |
42.9% |
| Drug pushing, drug abuse |
40.2% |
| Internet crime |
35.1% |
| Pick-pockets, purse snatchers |
34.5% |
| Theft of or from motor vehicles |
31.3% |
| Groping or other sexual assaults |
35.7% |
| Stalking |
32.2% |
| Bosozoku bike gangs’ dangerous riding, noise pollution, etc |
31.7% |
| Loan-sharking |
22.9% |
| Other |
1.0% |
| None in particular |
2.8% |
| Don’t know |
0.5% |
A recent Cabinet Office Japan survey into public order, much to my surprise found that the populace no longer pinned the blame for Japan’s ills on foreigners, even when compared to the same survey three and six years ago.
3 Comments
Caro · August 30, 2012 at 14:53
Seems to me that the questions are different enough that you can’t really conclude that concern about foreigner crime is decreasing. The newer polling question asks people about a RISE in crime (whereas the first just asked about crime that ought to be addressed/investigated). Given that ~30% of people who feel crime is on the rise attribute it (at least in part) to foreign crime – and that works out to about 23% of all poll respondents – it’s still a rather grim statement about attitudes towards foreigners.
Caro · August 30, 2012 at 14:54
Seems to me that the questions are different enough that you can’t really conclude that concern about foreigner crime is decreasing. The newer polling question asks people about a RISE in crime (whereas the first just asked about crime that ought to be addressed/investigated). Given that ~30% of people who feel crime is on the rise attribute it (at least in part) to foreign crime – and that works out to about 23% of all poll respondents – it’s still a rather grim statement about attitudes towards foreigners.
bingobangoboy · August 30, 2012 at 16:07
Seems like a pretty encouraging set of polls to me.
First of all, people *always* think that crime is on the rise, even if it’s actually in significant decline (as it is in present-day Japan), which will always inflate figures somewhat.
Secondly, simply offering the choice and allowing multiple selections is going to produce affirmative answers, especially given the fact that the people answering S2SQ (“What do you think are the causes of worsening public order?”) have already answered that they agree with the premise of the question (crime is rising). Foreigners/immigrants were the second-lowest target of blame in that question, which suggests that far fewer respondents would think to offer that answer unprompted.
It’s still appropriate to speak out against the tendency to attribute crime to foreigners, but realistically, I doubt you could find more foreigner-friendly answers to this poll in (Western country of your choice).
Anyway, the encouraging points, from my point of view:
– awareness of broader issues (economy, loss of “local solidarity”, education) as a possible factor in crime, as opposed to reactionary or fictional partisan gripes.
– “emotionally unstable / random slashers, etc” and habitual petty criminals a much greater risk than international terrorist groups, which are quite reasonably placed at the back of the pack — hallelujah!
– “Drunk-driving traffic accidents, hit-and-runs and other dangerous driving” should be #1 focus of police efforts. I can’t be the only one who agrees law enforcement should be stricter in this area. Psychologically speaking, I would expect a tendency to favour more violent but infrequent crimes (murder, etc) over this, so I’m happily surprised that most Japanese seem to agree with me.
So in summary, while I don’t want to excuse any prejudicial view of foreigners, these polls seem to show a remarkably sane view of crime that I can only dream of seeing in my own home country.