Articles by Masahiro Suzuki
Like other industrialised countries, Japan has experienced a rapid increase in the proportion of ... more Like other industrialised countries, Japan has experienced a rapid increase in the proportion of incarcerated older adults. This increase is problematic because prisons were not designed to accommodate the needs of the older adults who increasingly fill them, leading to immense financial, legal, and human costs as jurisdictions struggle to adapt to the demographic change. Some refer to this failure to adjust to changing demographics as “institutional thoughtlessness”. While a growing body of research points to concerns associated with the ageing trend, less work explicitly aims to understand the most effective ways to cope with the reality of the unprecedented number of older adults who are currently incarcerated. Using Japan as a case study, we argue that the misalignment between prison infrastructure and the changing physical and mental health needs of incarcerated people calls for a need to normalise prisons. Making prison life more similar to life outside of prison would reduce age-related risks like social isolation and dementia while improving the health, welfare, and reintegration of older adults.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
罪と罰, 2017
本稿は以下の構成からなる。まず初めに、オーストラリアにおける修復的少年司法の実践に焦点を当てる。ここでは、オーストラリアにおける修復的少年司法の始まりおよび発展の歴史に関して簡単に触れた後、現在... more 本稿は以下の構成からなる。まず初めに、オーストラリアにおける修復的少年司法の実践に焦点を当てる。ここでは、オーストラリアにおける修復的少年司法の始まりおよび発展の歴史に関して簡単に触れた後、現在の実務状況および少年司法内への制度化によって生じた弊害に関して論じる。続いて、オーストラリアにおける修復的少年司法の有効性を扱った研究、特に Reintegrative Shaming ExperimentとSouth Australia Juvenile Justiceに着目する。これらの結果の分析を踏まえた上で、オーストラリアにおける修復的(少年)司法研究の今後の方向性について論じる。最後に、以上の批判的分析をもとに、日本への視座に関して言及する。
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Prison Service Journal, 2016
Since its emergence, restorative justice (RJ) has attracted scholars, practitioners and policy-ma... more Since its emergence, restorative justice (RJ) has attracted scholars, practitioners and policy-makers from around the world. At the same time, however, such popularity has also generated confusion and a lack of consensus on what is RJ. Different people have proposed different notions of what qualifies as RJ. This article aims to contribute to such an ongoing debate by providing an overall picture of RJ. In this commentary, consideration is given to three aspects of RJ: concept, definition and practice.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Journal articles by Masahiro Suzuki
Punishment & Society, 2024
The emergence of tertiary desistance underscores the need to go beyond the current focus on behav... more The emergence of tertiary desistance underscores the need to go beyond the current focus on behavioral and identity/cognitive transformation in desistance research and take into account the social context that impacts desisters. This study aims to explore the experiences of people with a criminal history during the tertiary desistance phase by conducting a qualitative metasynthesis. We conducted literature searches across seven databases in January 2023: CINAHL, MEDLINE, ProQuest, PubMed, PsychINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science. After screening and assessing the quality of identified qualitative studies on tertiary desistance, we selected 13 relevant studies. Our synthesis indicates that desisters commonly encounter numerous challenges due to the stigma associated with their past criminal activities, which may result in feelings of insecurity, a negative self-image, and a reluctance to socialize with others. However, once desisters are recognized and trusted by significant others and society, they utilize the recognition and trust to overcome the stigma and experience a positive change in their sense of belonging. Given that tertiary desistance is an interactive process involving both people with a criminal history and society, it falls upon society to afford them a second chance at rehabilitation and reintegration.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Criminal Justice Studies, 2024
In restorative justice (RJ), forgiveness is usually eschewed because it is narrowly defined as a ... more In restorative justice (RJ), forgiveness is usually eschewed because it is narrowly defined as a bilateral process. However, this conceptualisation neglects the multi-dimensionality of forgiveness in RJ because forgiveness can take place beyond an interpersonal level. We aim to shed light on the intrapersonal dimension of forgiveness in RJ. By redefining forgiveness in RJ, we argue that (1) intrapersonal forgiveness is as compatible with RJ as interpersonal forgiveness; (2) intrapersonal forgiveness comes before interpersonal forgiveness and facilitates it in RJ; (3) unlike interpersonal forgiveness as an emergent value, intrapersonal forgiveness can be embraced as a maximising value in RJ; (4) intrapersonal and interpersonal forgiveness can serve as a catalyst for victim recovery and desistance from crime in RJ respectively.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Deviant Behavior, 2024
United Kingdom. His research interests include restorative justice, youth offending, desistance, ... more United Kingdom. His research interests include restorative justice, youth offending, desistance, victimology, comparative criminology, and elder crime. As an early career researcher, he has more than 30 publications in reputable journals and edited books. He also received several academic awards for his research on restorative justice and comparative criminology.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 2024
In the past decade, desistance research has attracted immense research attention, which has neces... more In the past decade, desistance research has attracted immense research attention, which has necessitated the clarification of the overall picture of desistance research in terms of methodology, definition, and theory. Using the systematic quantitative literature review method, we seek to provide an overview of Englishwritten peer-reviewed journal articles on desistance from 2011 to 2020. Analysis of 196 studies reveals that despite an almost equal quantitative-qualitative divide in desistance research, there is skewness in terms of research location, sample size, and usage of operationalisation and theory. Based on these findings, we suggest the future direction of desistance research.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 2024
This study explores the pressing issue of access to justice in Bangladesh, focusing on the challe... more This study explores the pressing issue of access to justice in Bangladesh, focusing on the challenges individuals encounter within the formal criminal justice system. Factors such as socioeconomic disparities, corruption, discrimination, and judicial backlogs are identified as major barriers to ensuring equal access to justice in the country. The study advocates for a nuanced understanding of justice dynamics, emphasizing the tensions and complementarities between formal and informal justice systems. This research employs a comprehensive analysis of secondary data, public perceptions, and qualitative insights to shed light on the feasibility and potential benefits of integrating informal justice approaches, such as shalish and village courts, to address the identified barriers. The findings reveal a substantial preference for local community-based conflict resolution methods, particularly for less severe offenses. To address a diverse range of crimes and disputes, the study proposes a hybrid justice model that integrates both formal and informal mechanisms, highlighting a context-specific and community-centric alternative. By involving communities, offering flexibility, and implementing localized solutions, informal justice could effectively alleviate case backlogs, ensure timely resolutions, and foster social cohesion. The study contributes valuable insights to the discourse on criminal justice reform, emphasizing inclusivity, efficiency, and fairness in reshaping the future of justice delivery in Bangladesh.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Child Abuse & Neglect, 2023
Background: Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) has transformed from a private matter into a global c... more Background: Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) has transformed from a private matter into a global concern. Although progress has been made in enhancing police responsiveness to IPV, research on interventions in IPV cases involving children remains limited. Objective: This study investigates how police officers' responses vary depending on the nature and severity of IPV incidents and explores disparities in their responses when children are present at IPV incidents.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Criminal Justice and Behavior, 2023
Restorative justice was initially used for minor crimes, but it has been increasingly used to add... more Restorative justice was initially used for minor crimes, but it has been increasingly used to address the aftermath of violent crimes. Previous studies have indicated that restorative justice can be effective in reducing the harmful effects of violent victimization. However, there is limited research on how restorative justice can support victim recovery. This paper presents a theoretical framework to better understand the relationship between victim recovery and restorative justice. The framework identifies core recovery factors that are common to victims of different types of violence, as well as those that are relevant to the restorative justice process. Additionally, the framework highlights enabling factors that can facilitate the victim recovery process when present in restorative justice as well as inhibiting factors that can impede the victim recovery process if they are present in restorative justice.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 2023
The rapid growth of restorative justice (RJ) has brought myths into the literature. Daly (2002) i... more The rapid growth of restorative justice (RJ) has brought myths into the literature. Daly (2002) is among the most important demythologization attempt in the literature. This paper revisits the four myths that were discussed in this seminal paper: (1) RJ is an oppositional concept to retributive justice; (2) RJ is rooted in Indigenous justice and the past dominant form of justice; (3) RJ is a care response as opposed to a justice response; and (4) RJ has the potential to transform people. This paper first examines whether these four myths remain pervasive in the post-2002 RJ literature. Reviewing the post-2002 literature suggests that demythologization has almost taken place. This paper then seeks to highlight theoretical gaps in the post-2002 RJ. Corresponding to the four myths identified, this paper offers four areas of RJ that warrant further debate and research. These are (1) institutionalization of RJ, (2) decolonization of RJ, (3) role of masculinity in RJ, and (4) mechanisms of how RJ works.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 2022
While apology has only a secondary role in restorative justice (RJ), an apology is prevalent in t... more While apology has only a secondary role in restorative justice (RJ), an apology is prevalent in the RJ process. This is promising, but problematic is that there seems to be a gap in the perceived sincerity of apology between victims and offenders. Since less is known about why this gap exists, this paper extends our knowledge about under what conditions a sincere apology is possible in RJ. More specifically, this paper seeks to identify the key components of a sincere apology that are pertinent to RJ as well as the promoting and inhibiting factors for a sincere apology in RJ. This paper provides future research implications about the relationship between RJ and sincere apology.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
International Review of Victimology, 2022
The apology-forgiveness cycle is a simple but powerful process for conflict resolution. Given the... more The apology-forgiveness cycle is a simple but powerful process for conflict resolution. Given the prevalence of apology and forgiveness in restorative justice (RJ), the apology-forgiveness cycle may take place. However, there is a lack of a theoretical understanding of the relationship between apology and forgiveness in the RJ processes. After identifying key elements and impediments of the apologyforgiveness cycle during RJ meetings based on existing literature, we develop a theoretical model of the apology-forgiveness cycle during RJ encounters. This typology explains how the apologyforgiveness cycle is intertwined with the RJ process, subsequently facilitating, blocking, and changing its sequence. There are four cycles: (1) apology facilitating forgiveness, (2) apology without forgiveness, (3) forgiveness promoting apology, and (4) forgiveness without apology. We conclude by offering future directions for research on the apology-forgiveness cycle in RJ.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Criminal Justice and Behavior, 2021
A systematic effort to answer in what ways and contexts the claims of restorative justice (RJ) pr... more A systematic effort to answer in what ways and contexts the claims of restorative justice (RJ) prove persuasive is lacking. We address this gap through a metasynthesis of qualitative studies. Drawing on 26 studies identified through the systematic literature search, we identified three overarching themes to understand "how RJ works": (1) opportunities for humanization, learning, and putting emotions of victims and individuals who committed a crime at the center of conflict-solving, (2) support networks and mechanisms for communication, and (3) life-changing journey enshrined in healing. We develop a line of argument showing how the micro-, meso-, and macro-elements of RJ interact with each other. While offering reflections on the limitations of existing literature around this key issue, we conclude with implications for advancing research of RJ.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
The International Journal of Restorative Justice, 2020
While many empirical studies on restorative justice conferencing have been conducted in the conte... more While many empirical studies on restorative justice conferencing have been conducted in the context of ‘what works’, research on ‘how it works’ is scarce. Little is known about how, in what conditions and for whom restorative justice conferencing ‘works’. In this article, I aim to fill this gap in the literature by developing a concept of readiness. It refers to participants’ attitudes and emotional dispositions towards, and knowledge about, restorative justice conferencing and the other parties prior to the face-to-face dialogue process. I suggest that the concept of readiness may be a key independent variable to understand how restorative justice conferencing works because it reminds us that a restorative journey may begin before a face-to-face dialogue between participants take places. This article concludes by offering how it can be used in research on restorative justice conferencing.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
International Annals of Criminology, 2019
Mainstream criminology has been mainly developed in the US and other English-speaking countries. ... more Mainstream criminology has been mainly developed in the US and other English-speaking countries. With an expansion of criminology outside the English-speaking world, several scholars have started to cast doubts on the applicability of current mainstream criminology in their regions because it has failed to account for cultural differences. This question has led to a call for an “indigenized” criminology, in which knowledge and discourses are derived from or fixed to align with unique cultural contexts in each region. In this vein, Liu (2009, 2016, 2017a, 2017b) has proposed Asian Criminology. While it has significantly contributed to the development of criminology in Asia, we see two challenges in Liu’s Asian Criminology: lack of consideration for cultural diversity within Asia and its focus on the individualism–collectivism continuum. In this paper, we propose an alternative approach to developing criminology in Asia, which we call culture-inclusive criminology.
It builds on a premise that Asia consists of a variety of cultural zones, and therefore calls for a shift from the Euro-American view on culture towards an understanding of culture in its context. Its goal is to develop indigenized criminologies in each cultural zone of Asia under an umbrella of culture-inclusive criminology.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Social & Legal Studies, 2020
Nils Christie's concept of 'conflicts as property' has become axiomatic within restorative justic... more Nils Christie's concept of 'conflicts as property' has become axiomatic within restorative justice (RJ) as justification for victim involvement and redress, offender accountability and reintegration, and community involvement in RJ conferencing practices. In this article, we revisit the concept of conflicts as property as a theoretical premise for the use of RJ. We suggest that restorative conferencing practices used to address criminal matters in most English-speaking countries or jurisdictions evidence many of the same concerns voiced by Christie four decades ago in his critique of the 'stealing' of conflicts more rightly owned by victims, offenders and communities. We further argue that the institutionalisation of RJ has embedded its practices into highly unequal justice systems, with little evidence of how RJ may enable people or communities to 'own' conflicts in ways that do not mirror existing lines of social marginalisation and inequality. In 1977, Nils Christie published 'Conflicts as Property' in the British Journal of Crim-inology, an article which he saw as unlikely to raise much interest. The article did more than raise interest, however, and was quickly translated into theoretical justification for
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
European Journal of Criminology, 2022
The role of forgiveness in restorative justice (RJ) remains peripheral because interpersonal forg... more The role of forgiveness in restorative justice (RJ) remains peripheral because interpersonal forgiveness has been considered a ‘gift’ that should not be forced on victims in RJ. In this article, we aim to advance the role of forgiveness in RJ. However, we do not focus on interpersonal forgiveness. We instead focus on another dimension of forgiveness: self-forgiveness for offenders. Because self-forgiveness is linked with both RJ and desistance, self-forgiveness has the potential to function as a catalyst to connect RJ with desistance. Drawing on their relationship, we offer a process-based model of how offenders may or may not desist through RJ. We conclude by offering implications for research on RJ.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
日本犯罪社会学研究, 2019
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Youth Justice, 2020
Japanese youth justice has experienced several reforms to date. Currently, a radical revision is ... more Japanese youth justice has experienced several reforms to date. Currently, a radical revision is under consideration: to lower the age of criminal majority from 20 to 18 years. Japanese scholars and practitioners have since been engaged in debates over this proposal. Drawing on existing empirical research on youth offending and juvenile justice, the purpose of this article is to advance a critical analysis on (in)appropriateness of lowering the age of criminal majority. By focusing on its potential consequences, we also discuss what the future of youth justice in Japan would look like. We conclude with offering research implications.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Uploads
Articles by Masahiro Suzuki
Journal articles by Masahiro Suzuki
It builds on a premise that Asia consists of a variety of cultural zones, and therefore calls for a shift from the Euro-American view on culture towards an understanding of culture in its context. Its goal is to develop indigenized criminologies in each cultural zone of Asia under an umbrella of culture-inclusive criminology.
It builds on a premise that Asia consists of a variety of cultural zones, and therefore calls for a shift from the Euro-American view on culture towards an understanding of culture in its context. Its goal is to develop indigenized criminologies in each cultural zone of Asia under an umbrella of culture-inclusive criminology.
investigated how RJ operates in dealing with IPV in Muslim countries and communities. This article explores how RJ approaches towards IPV operate in some Muslim countries/communities, and offers insights into developing culturally and religiously appropriate ways of implementing RJ in IPV situations among Muslims. Given the prevalence of IPV among Muslims, the question is particularly important and
timely. Taking exclusively limited examples of RJ approaches that have been used to mediate IPV cases in Muslim countries and communities, this paper found one significant challenge in the RJ approaches among Muslims: community acceptance of
IPV. To reduce IPV in Muslim society, it is necessary to develop treatment models and techniques that meet cultural and religious needs. This paper found that since RJ is not alien to Islamic teachings, RJ approaches can be implemented effectively
in dealing with IPV among Muslims by ensuring justice and equity of the abused woman. The findings of this paper will assist policymakers, practitioners, and service providers in providing religiously and culturally appropriate care when addressing IPV issues among Muslims.