Abstract
Debates concerning criminal justice policy in Japan to date have largely regarded this area as uniform, with little attention paid to differences between locales. However, given trends of decentralization in recent years, it is possible that patterns of localization in criminal justice policy can be observed. Therefore, this study aimed to capture and account for the extent of variation across locales in criminal justice policy in Japan using concepts from governance studies. Specifically, focusing on the local recidivism prevention plans of 42 prefectures formulated under the Act for the Prevention of Recidivism, the following two points were examined using text mining: (1) what aspects are emphasized in each prefectural recidivism prevention promotion plan; and (2) whether there are differences between the prefectures in respect of the aspects that are emphasized. The results showed that: (1) the frequency of the “continuous support code”, which emphasizes “implementing policies that take into account the characteristics of people released from prison”, and the “cooperation code”, which stresses “promoting cooperation between institutions”, was relatively high; and (2) whilst Kyoto and Hyogo were exceptional, all other prefectures were largely homogeneous with little indication of substantial local variation. These results are discussed in terms of the asymmetries in governing relations between national and local authorities.
