Form6(submit in MS Word form)
Grant No.

18－G48

Research Report
Name : David Brewster
Organization (at the start of the grant period):
Ryukoku University, Criminology Research Center
Title of Research:
Illegal drug abuse control in Japan: An exploration of recovering drug users’ perspectives
Purpose of Research:（200 words）
Responses to illegal drugs in Japan have traditionally been based on a commitment to a tough and stigma-producing
criminal justice-led approach which seeks to prevent, deter, and punish drug use. However, in recent years there has
been growing concerns about an increasingly high re-offending rate, which in turn has generated greater interest indeveloping more effective treatment and re-integrative measures for repeat drug offenders. Previous research has
tended to neglect social factors, including, inter alia, the family, school, friendship networks, work, wider societal
culture, and how these shift over the life course. The aim of this research project was to critically examine illegal druguse control in Japan through an exploration of the perspectives of recovering drug users. It sought to identify factors
which shape individuals’ choices to use and desist from illegal drug use over the life course, as well as generating anunderstanding about the nature of contemporary drug abuse control culture in Japan from those who have directly
experienced it. In doing so, it aimed to (1) generating a deeper understanding of the intersection between policy
responses and the socio-cultural conditions which are faced by recovering drug users; and (2) “promote international
understanding” of the issues in Japan.
Content/Methodology of Research:（400 words）
The project had three core research questions: (1) What factors shape the onset of, and desistance from, illegal drug
abuse over the life course? (2) What are the experiences of drug control measures? (3) How have they impacted upon
the lives of recovering drug users? The research adopted a case study design, focusing on the Kansai region of Japan.
The research recruited a total of 13 participants from different Drug Addiction Rehabilitation Centers in the region.
In-depth life history interviews were used as the primary method of data generation, complemented with a review ofexisting secondary data such as research literature and statistics. Each participant was interviewed at least 2 times andinterviews generally lasted between 1-2 hours. In the first interview, participants were instructed to openly and freely
discuss their life histories, with a particular emphasis around the onset and desistance of drug use, as well as theirexperiences of formal responses. This allowed participants to identify and talk about what they saw as important, rather
than imposing ideas from the researcher. Following this, the second (and any subsequent) interview(s) were based on
the content discussed in the first interview. The researcher created a timeline of events, as well as a set of more specificquestions to gain greater clarity and detail on particular aspects that were discussed. Following data collection,interviews were transcribed and inputted into NVivo code-and-retrieve software. This facilitated a thematic analysis tobe conducted. Whilst allowing for flexibility, themes were based around the core research questions, such as “onset”;“desistance”; “family”; “peers”; “employment”; “education”; “community”; “criminal justice contact”; “turningpoints”; “trigger events” etc. as well as being created ‘in-vivo’ (directly from the words of participants). From thiscoding, key themes and patterns that emerged in the interviews were identified.
Conclusion/Observation（200 words）
The research found that those recovering from drug use often have complicated histories, with lots of variance apparent
between participants. At the same time, however, there were several notable patterns that emerged from the data. In
respect of onset, there was often the experience of trauma events as a child within the family environment such asabuse by a family member. Second, there was often a sense of failure to meet the expectations of parents and/orgrandparents. Third, and following on from these two prior experiences, the joining of deviant and criminal peer
networks such as organized criminal groups. As individuals became more embedded in drug using lifestyles, it often
became extremely difficult to stop using and return to society. Important factors contributing towards this were foundto be social stigma by the family and in the broader community, as well as the problems created throughcriminalization and imprisonment which further severed ties between the user and their non-using networks. A
common observed pattern was that desistance often followed a key turning point, such as the death of a family member,or an episode of high levels of drug use. In sum, the lived realities of those recovering from illegal drug use contain
important lessons for formal responses. Mainly, that a punishment-oriented approach fails to recognize themulti-faceted reasons for drug use and may only serve to further disconnect the individual from those pro-social
networks which are crucial for living healthy and happy lives.