Ryukoku University You, Unlimited
Criminology Research Center(CrimRC)
Research System
Criminology Research Center : Organization chart
Research Section
For the objective of fusing and systematizing various forms of knowledge regarding crime and criminal justice, research is being developed in the following three fields:
- Crime and Humanity (e.g. forensic psychology; therapeutic jurisprudence; correctional religious studies)
- Crime and Society (e.g. sociological criminology; socio-legal studies; legal education)
- Crime and Science (e.g. policy evaluation; quantitative and qualitative methodologies; forensic methodologies)
Research activities follow the cycle described below.
1. Systematization
Specialist expertise on crime and delinquency is shared and integrated to systematize the discipline of criminology.
2. Interdisciplinary work
Individual social problems are studied through collaborative research that links together diverse fields of specialist expertise.
3. Transdisciplinary work
A cycle is established of attempting to apply interdisciplinary findings in society, sharing new issues encountered in the course of putting these findings into practice, and linking these new issues to a subsequent phase of research.
4. Diversification and growth
Various stakeholders from inside and outside the university as well as from inside and outside Japan are brought in to assemble human resources and build networks.
CrimRC invites not only researchers, but also a variety of stakeholders (practitioners, journalists, and NPO employees) to participate in its research activities. This gives CrimRC the flexibility to address social problems from a variety of perspectives and the opportunity to actively organize public workshops that disseminate research findings domestically and internationally (Link to Japanese page).
- Organizing workshops and publishing reports on issues related to COVID-19
- Professor Shinichi Ishizuka undertook a critical examination of Japan’s penal system, submitted statements to expert groups, and spoke as an adviser in the Diet (News Link).
- Professor Akiko Kogawara has been working in the area of forensic methodology to address problems with Japan’s criminal justice system and exonerate the falsely accused. She has had significant successes related to the issue of shaken baby syndrome (SBS, or abusive head trauma: AHT).
- Professor Koichi Hamai has participated as an expert in the Japanese Ministry of Justice’s Model Project for Regional Recidivism Prevention and in plans for recidivism prevention formulated by local governments and works to put evidence obtained through research into practice in society.
- An “agreement to advance the prevention of recidivism” was signed with Kyoto Prefecture in 2019. A collaborative research system for recidivism prevention projects has also created for several local governments, including Neyagawa City in Osaka Prefecture.
Based on these achievements, CrimRC is recognized as one of the leading centers of research related to criminology in Japan.
Education Section
We aim to implement the results obtained by research into society. We are developing projects in the following three themes:
- Construction of a systematized criminology curriculum
- Evaluation of, and recommendations for, crime policy
- Utilizing criminology to develop highly skilled practitioners and researchers
For the social implementation of research outcomes, we will conduct a variety of activities, such as: public research workshops, training workshops, and study sessions. Through doing so, knowledge will be shared with students from elementary to higher education as well as with members of the general public in ‘easy-to-understand classes’ consisting of interactive and Q&A type formats.
• Ryukoku Criminology in English
In 2018, a class titled “Ryukoku Criminology in English—Let’s study the Criminal Justice System in the secure and safe society” (15 lectures) was organized as a test case.
In 2019, Japanese Experience Program in Kyoto (JEP-Kyoto) classes, and special lectures from the Faculty of Law were started by Center for the Promotion of Global Education (R-Globe) as regular classes of Ryukoku University. The special lectures are open to native English-speaking international students as well as Japanese students who wish to improve their English communication skills.
• Mock Trials
CrimRC actively organizes mock trials as part of its activities. These mock trials provide the general public who are not legal professionals the opportunity to learn about the law, the judicial system, and its underlying values, and to develop an understanding of legal concepts. Literary mock trials are also organized for high school students that incorporate material from novels and Rakugo stories.
• Ryukoku Criminology and Conceptualization
The basic principles of criminology at CrimRC are “compassionate criminology” and “developing people and communities capable of responding flexibly to troubled people.” Implementing these principles requires leaders with an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary perspective. CrimRC promotes the following concepts for its criminology curriculum.
International Section
Through academic exchanges with other researchers, practitioners, universities and foreign research institutions, we will not only raise Japanese criminology to international standards, but also promote the accumulated knowledge of corrections and rehabilitation regarding the “safest country in the world” and aim to disseminate these experiences to the world. This will be achieved through several means:
- Dispatch researchers to foreign universities, research institutions, government agencies etc.
- Arrange sessions at international conferences and present research outcomes.
- Invite internationally renowned researchers to hold symposiums in Japan and host symposiums, seminars, research sessions.
Ryukoku University hosted the Asian Criminological Society 12th Annual Conference (ACS2020), an international conference held online over four days from June 18 to June 21, 2021. Ryukoku University was given the honor of hosting the conference thanks to its work in actively organizing international exchanges and international networking.
>> Report of Asian Criminological Society 12th Annual Conference (ACS2020)
• Hosting and Appointing Foreign Researchers
CrimRC actively pursues academic exchanges with universities and research institutions outside Japan and appoints overseas researchers as contract researchers at CrimRC. To date, we have hosted researchers and student interns from Poland, Canada, Spain, the UK, and other countries. We have also appointed contract researchers from the UK, the U.S., Taiwan, Australia, and other countries.
>> Researchers
• Collaboration with Cardiff University, UK
Presided over by the Delegation of the European Union to Japan, CrimRC obtained a grant from the International Credit Mobility program of Erasmus+ (the EU’s new program to support education) and in 2018 concluded an arrangement for student and faculty exchanges between Cardiff University and Ryukoku University.
(Link to Japanese page)
• Support for Students Participating in the Kyoto Congress Youth Forum
The Kyoto Congress (The 14th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice) was held between March 7 and March 12, 2021. About 120 Japanese and international students participated in the Youth Forum, a special event at the Kyoto Congress, including four students from the Faculty of Law of Ryukoku University. CrimRC gave students the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of criminology and to improve presentation skills.
(Link to Japanese page)
• International Self-Report Delinquency Study-Japan (ISRD-JAPAN) Project
The ISRD study aims to uncover differences, similarities, and trends in crime perpetration and victimization among nations by comparing countries. CrimRC represented Japan in the ISRD and conducted a preliminary study of public junior high schools in 2019. Reports were made at domestic conferences in 2020 and international conferences in 2021 and 2022.
• Nurturing Young Researchers and their Achievements
Young researchers are encouraged to report findings from collaborative research at academic conferences. Papers on findings from collaborative research are also published with young researchers as editors and co-authors. CrimRC also offers several grants for travel expenses to international conferences and endeavors to improve the international standing of Ryukoku Criminology.
The Early Career Criminology Research Network of Japan: ECCRN, which was established by young researchers at CrimRC, offers a forum for communication between Japanese and international researchers and receives support from CrimRC.