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Law and Culture in Japan
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02 June 2025

Volume 30 of Sociology of Crime, Law and Deviance brings together scholars from various disciplinary backgrounds to discuss a variety of aspects and developments related to law and culture in contemporary Japan. Some scholars have law as their primary field of study and from that viewpoint focus on connections with culture, while others are first and foremost scholars of culture who link their research themes to norms and regulations.
The interconnection between law and culture in Japanese society is the central substantive focus of the book. Thematically linked, the chapters are diverse in terms of theory, methodology, and (multi-)disciplinary perspective, discussing institutions of law, crime and justice, and various media.
Written by expert scholars who work in Japan, Law and Culture in Japan communicates research on law and culture in Japanese society to a broad audience. This edited volume is essentially oriented at scholars and students who are located outside of Japan, yet who share similar scholarly interests in law, culture, and the interconnections between them.
SOCIAL SCIENCE / Criminology, Crime and criminology, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / General, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Penology, Causes and prevention of crime, Sociology
Mathieu Deflem is Professor of Sociology at the University of South Carolina, USA. His research and teaching interests include law, social control, popular culture, and sociological theory, areas in which he has published widely.
Hiroshi Takahashi is Professor in the Graduate School of Law at Kobe University, Japan. His specialties include socio-legal studies, alternative dispute resolution, the legal profession, and the history of judicial statistics.
Dimitri Vanoverbeke is Professor in the Graduate Schools for Law and Politics at The University of Tokyo, Japan. He specializes in the sociology of law and the participation of lay citizens in the criminal procedure in modern and contemporary Japan.
Jason G. Karlin is Professor in Interdisciplinary Information Studies at The University of Tokyo, Japan. He specializes in media and cultural studies and has published extensively on celebrity culture in Japan.
Introduction: Japanese Perspectives on Law and Culture; Mathieu Deflem
Part I. INSTITUTIONS
Introduction to Part I; Hiroshi Takahashi
Chapter 1. Constitution and Legal Culture in Japan: A Systems Theoretical Interpretation of the Japanese Constitutional Crisis of 2015; Takemitsu Morikawa
Chapter 2. Law as a Reason for Action and Inaction: The Case of Japan; Masaki Abe
Chapter 3. Gender Inequality and the Legitimacy of Japan’s Shared Surname System: An Analysis of Law Textbooks; Hiroshi Takahashi
Chapter 4. Access to Courts in Japan: A Gender Perspective; Kyoko Ishida
Part II. JUSTICE
Introduction to Part II; Dimitri Vanoverbeke
Chapter 5. Policing of the People, By the People, and For the People? Obeying the Law and Conforming to Peers in Japan; Kiyoshi Abe
Chapter 6. Cannabis Law Reform in Japan: Going With or Against the Tide?; David Brewster
Chapter 7. Lay Judges and the Hesitant Shift in Japan’s Criminal Trial Culture; Dimitri Vanoverbeke
Chapter 8. Judges and Wrongful Convictions in Japan: A Study of Judicial Culture; Makoto Ibusuki and David T. Johnson
Chapter 9. Violence Against Women in Japan: A Review of Recent Trends and the Implications of Victimization Survey Results; Masahiro Tsushima
Part III. MEDIA
Introduction to Part III; Jason G. Karlin
Chapter 10. Entertainers and Agents in Japan and Asia: Who’s Working for Whom?; Dan Rosen
Chapter 11. Regulation and Negotiation: A Case Study on Sexual Expressions in Japanese Boys’ Love Manga and TV Drama; Wei-Jung Chang
Chapter 12. Media Incitements in Japan: Social Contagion, Self-Harm, and Freedom of Expression; Jason G. Karlin
Chapter 13. Post-Populism Legislation: Criminal Policy in Japan since the 2010s; Wei Guo