Applications of Legal Psychology in Japan: Current Practice, Research Knowledge, and Future Directions

Abstract

Legal psychology is field of research which seeks to bring evidence-based practice to the vital work of the criminal justice system. This research is increasingly being conducted and its findings applied around the world. However, worldwide legal systems and their processes can vary greatly. In the current paper, we summarise discussions between legal psychology academics and criminal justice practitioners from Japan. Together, we examine how practices in the Japanese criminal justice system interact with the international evidence base for psychologically-informed ‘best practice’ approaches. Our discussion targets areas of popular study in legal psychology, focusing on concealed crime knowledge detection, line up identification procedures, and investigative interviewing of witnesses, suspects, and victims. Each section features a description of current Japanese practice, followed by a review of the current state of the relevant academic legal psychological literature. We then connect this practice and research synergy to a reflection with suggestions for future research. Taken together, our paper acts as a conduit to incentivise more research and practice collaboration for Japanese and non-Japanese audiences and presents opportunities for collective international legal psychology.