Youth deviance in Japan: class reproduction of non-conformity

Abstract

Robert Yoder’s book is interesting for several reasons, not least because it quite clearly sets out to challenge a number of common preconceptions about post-war Japanese society that have existed amongst western commentators. The first such preconception is the notion that Japan is a uniquely harmonious (and as a result, crime-free) place. Awell-ordered society of conformist, group-oriented individuals has often been contrasted with the conflict(and crime-) ridden, individualistic societies of the West (usually meaning the United States). The second preconception is the belief that Japanese youth, although perhaps a little eccentric (as evidenced by manga, pokemon, otaku, videogames etc.), are somehow more disciplined and docile than western youth, and hence much less prone to misbehave. Thirdly, Yoder seeks to challenge the image of Japan as a ‘classless society’ where everyone is middle class, and in which inequalities of wealth do not exist. The idea that Japan is the kind of society that anyone placed behind a Rawlsian ‘veil of ignorance’ would choose to live—safe in the knowledge that even if they were to end up at the bottom end of the social scale they would be relatively affluent—is a powerful one that has largely survived the economic crises of the ‘lost decade’ of the 1990s. Finally, Yoder questions images of Japanese education, which has often been presented as a model of efficiency, uniformity and meritocracy. Yoder is surely right to target each of these ideas, as they are all deeply flawed, at least as empirical descriptions of contemporary social reality in Japan. However, it is perhaps worth noting the obvious difference in Japanese attitudes towards these constellations of ideas. Images of Japanese youth as docile conformists could not be further removed from current anxieties about youth crime, in particular, and youth more generally. Certainly, the news media (both serious and tabloid) abounds with stories of rising rates of youth crime— especially serious violent offences—and the government has responded with a number of controversial measures including reform of the Juvenile Law to introduce more punitive elements to the youth justice system. Concerns about declining standards of education, especially within public schools, are also widespread and form an important element of this more generalized moral panic surrounding young people. The most obvious manifestation Asian Criminology (2007) 2:71–73 DOI 10.1007/s11417-006-9019-3