It has been noted that the study of desistance incorporates traditional criminological theories inadequately into its theoretical framework. But not a few findings and explanatory concepts that has been proposed in these theories have high affinity rather than incompatible nature with it by logical necessity. In this paper, paying attention to the perspective of ‘contingency’ made a point of in H. S. Becker’s sequential model of deviance, I discussed the above-mentioned incorporation through considering effects of the conception of criminals and the desisting as structured contingency in deviant career to deviation/desistance. Especially focusing on the characteristics of the conception of the desisting that tend to be enforceable and severe, I pointed out the conception of the desisting of those characteristics made the desisting process unstable and then it could be an explanatory factor of the differentiation of the desisting process.

　In this paper, based on the proximity between RJ and desistance research, I review the concept of “re-integrative shaming” by Braithwaite, who is active in rejoining existing criminological theories with RJ. While it is widely used worldwide as an explanatory theory for RJ practice programs, why has it been harshly criticized by other RJ theorists?　As a result, it was because of the adherence to the concept of “shame” has made the difference from punishment unclear, and the lack of understanding of the “shaming” community and the discussion on the building process of the expected community. Contrary to Braithwaite’s original intention of establishing the identity of the offender, which has been placed in a passive position in existing criminological theories, the reality of RJ being partially incorporated into the existing criminal justice system. 　It is essential not to lose sight of the value of RJ as a philosophy of social change, and to change not only the existing criminal justice system but also the state of society as a subject of critical examination. It is essential not to lose sight of these inherent values.

　This paper discusses the issue of economic exclusion that has often been overlooked in Japanese studies of desistance, and its associated problems.　R. K. Merton's theory of anomie and J. Young’s discussion in The Exclusive Society suggest that we need to look at the economic exclusion that people face to break the mechanisms of crime generation in late modernity. However, most desistance studies in Japan have not addressed the issue of economic exclusion faced by ex-offenders and ex-delinquents. Those studies tended to require ex-offenders and ex-delinquents to improve their own “competence” and transform their self-narratives to achieve desistance from crime, and to call for changes in agencies and individuals who provide the necessary support for such transformation.　The persisting problem of economic exclusion among ex-offenders and ex-delinquents presents two challenges. First, economic exclusion may frustrate their desire to live without crime. Second, and more significantly, such exclusion continues to threaten their right to maintain the minimum standards of wholesome and cultured living.　Moreover, critical discussions in sociological studies of education that address the issue of people’s life security suggest that it is risky to only recommend changing the “competence” and self-narratives of ex-offenders and ex-delinquents, or the systems that support them in their desistance from crime. The risk is that such proposals may not only preserve economic exclusion but may also accelerate it in resonance with the recent trend toward workfare.

　The idea of “recovery” support for people who have committed certain criminal acts, as typified by the motto, “the promotion of recidivism prevention”, is understood and agreed upon by most people without discomfort, and will be implemented more extensively in the future. However, as a researcher who established a place for addiction recovery (DARC), and have maintained it and continued daily practices, the author feels certain uncomfortableness with the trend.　The purpose of this paper is to examine the recovery of addicts from clinical sociological perspective taking the standpoint of DARC, whose main purpose is not preventing recidivism for criminal policy concern. It is an attempt to generate a concept of recovery as a proactive behavioral theory based on intra-self dialogues, rather than a coercive and extrapolative theory of recovery with a strong orientation toward adaptation. The basic question here is who decides recovery and who is the subject of the narrative. Taking G.H. Mead’s theory of the social self as a key, this study examines various aspects of addiction and the process of recovery, using the concept of “self-reconciliation” and focusing on transformation of the self. The author also points out the impact of recent research surveys on the recovery of the people involved.

　The “Self-control theory” (Gottfredson and Hirschi 1990) proposes that the cause of delinquency is an individual’s low self-control. The parental effect, which is the generator of self-control, and the mediating effect of self-control in the parental effect and delinquency are still considered controversial issues in this theory. Given that most empirical studies on this subject have been conducted in Western countries so far, there is a need for studies in East Asian countries from the viewpoint of universality, in terms of race, gender, and culture. This study uses Japanese data from the Third International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD3) to analyze the findings of the theory, with a focus on gender. It was observed that low self-control promotes delinquent behavior in both males and females. At the same time, differences were observed, in that the parental effect on generating self-control was stronger for girls, while the explanatory power of the regression equation for boys was lower. The mediating effect of self-control was observed only in girls. Furthermore, the results of factor analysis of the low self-control scale indicated a two-factor solution, suggesting the possibility of reconsidering the scale.

　The policy and practice of police/public relations have been considered very important since high levels of trust in the police are necessary to secure public cooperation with the police and enhance a citizen's quality of life. Different models addressing trust in the police have been empirically tested, including the model traditionally proposed in social psychology, the police legitimacy model, and the salient value similarity model. Most studies on this topic have been conducted in Western advanced nations. Also, several important research projects in Japan have demonstrated that there is a correlation of trust in policing that is different from those observed in other countries. However, all three models have not fully explained the patterns of trust in the police in the Japanese context. Rather, it is possible several types of measures (e.g., uses of publicity, door-to-door visits) play important roles in deciding the levels of trust in police. Against this background, the current study seeks to address the impact of measures of confidence in police, using cross-sectional survey data from 868 adults in Japan. A result we have noted is that perceptions of six out of ten measures impacted trust in and intention to cooperate with the police through different mediating variables. Based on these results, implications for measures to ensure trust in the Japanese police are discussed.

　What used to be considered deviant has become conformable, and what used to be conformable is now treated as deviance. One area where these two aspects of deviance can be identified simultaneously is the problem of drugs. In the case of the drug problem in other countries, there is a phenomenon of deregulation of some illegal drugs and tightening of regulations on legal drugs. In order to understand this phenomenon, it is necessary to consider not only illegal drugs, but also the developments surrounding legal drugs. This paper therefore uses ‘distance’ as a perspective from which to understand the developments of legal and illegal drugs. Furthermore, the concepts of a ‘drug divide’ and ‘drug apartheid’ will be used to explain the changing nature of the distance between these types of drugs. The paper then refers to the situation in countries in which the regulation of legal drugs is tightening and illegal drugs are being deregulated, and to the prospects of this occurring in Japan.

　This paper examines the Japanese criminal justice policymaking process, focusing on the relationship between individual cases of legislation for harsher punishment, which occurred relatively often in the middle of 2000s, and policymakers’ justifications for them based on a “deterrent effect.” Conventional wisdom among citizens and policymakers in Japan appears to assume that harsher punishment produces a greater “deterrent effect.” In the context of this conventional wisdom, this paper shows the limited range of the deterrent effect of harsher punishment by reviewing the literature on harsher punishments and deterrent effects. The paper also examines cases of legislation for harsher punishment that are partly justified by the deterrent effect in commentary articles written by bureaucrats responsible for the Bills, using systematic collection and classification of the articles. The paper concludes that the proportion of the legislative cases justified by a deterrent effect in the commentary articles is at most a quarter of all legislation for harsher punishment. For nearly half of these, the commentary articles by bureaucrats insist that a harsher punishment justly strengthens the deterrent effect without considering the probability of arrest or the characteristics of potential criminals, both of which affect the deterrent effect.