A review of crime prevention activities in a Japanese local government area since 2008: Beautiful Windows Movement in Adachi Ward

Abstract

There have been limited reports on crime prevention policies by local governments in Japan, which is one of the safest countries in the world. This article reviews crime prevention policies in Adachi Ward, which used to have the highest crime rates in Tokyo. The government of Adachi Ward introduced the “Beautiful Windows Movement” (BWM) in 2008. Based on BWM, Adachi Ward implemented various programs and interventions based on two different aspects: the aspect of preventing minor crimes and disorder in partnership with the police referring to the Broken Windows Theory and the aspect of literally making the Ward beautiful in cooperation with citizen volunteers. After 11 years of implementing BWM, the number of recorded crimes in Adachi Ward declined the most in Tokyo and residents’ sense of security improved significantly. This case study highlights the advantage of the duality of BWM to both reduce crimes and improve residents’ sense of security.

Strategies used for Crime Prevention in Urban District, Zanzibar

“…"Beautiful Window Movement" program at Adachi ward is a good example which intended to counteract minor crimes and disorders in the area. Police and ward community were working together to minimize crime and fear of crime and rise up a sense of security among communities (Hino & Chronopoulos, 2021). Unlike Japan, where crime prevention programs were well presented, in India, crime prevention was used to stop cybercrime in Smart Cities.…”

“…According to Hino (2018) and Hino and Chronopoulos (2021), flowering streets has been an effective approach for crime prevention in Japan and other Asian countries. In this approach, neighborhood communities are given tags to connect in flowerpots and then place them in conspicuous areas such as in front of their houses.…”

Volume 2 Issue 2

“…Unlike in Europe, in Asian countries such as Japan, crime prevention at the Ward level was a plan to deal with minor crimes. Adachi Ward for instance, introduced "Beautiful Window Movement" in 2008 to stop minor crimes and disorders (Hino & Chronopoulos, 2021). Different to Japan, India practiced crime prevention to block cybercrime in Smart Cities of India (Chatterjee, Kar, Dwivedi, & Kizgin, 2018).…”