DRUG-ABUSE AND ANTI-DRUG POLICY IN JAPAN - PAST HISTORY AND FUTURE-DIRECTIONS

This paper traces the abuse of drugs and anti-drug policy in Japan dur ing the pre-war, war, and post-war eras. The analysis is divided into six historical periods that examine the purported antecedents, the his torical background, and the various governmental and societal counterm easures adopted to combat the drug problem. Producers, traffickers, an d consumers of drugs in Japan are identified and discussed. The paper also addresses drug countermeasures including responses from legislatu res, society, criminal justice personnel, and the medical community. T he paper argues that Japan's 'war on drugs' in the 1980s was a direct result of pressure from the United States to adopt harsher sanctions a nd from a punitive Japanese public that associates drug use with poor self-control. It concludes that Japan should not emulate the punitive policies of the United States because they are inconsistent with histo rical criminal justice practices in Japan and because little evidence shows they have reduced supply or demand in the United States.