Abstract
This is a comparative study that will compare the federal prison systems and crime statistics of the United States and Japan in order to determine if there is a difference in recidivism and rehabilitation rates and if so, what factors contribute to those differences. The United States and Japan are both economic powerhouses with large modern cities as well as rural areas. The criminal justice systems for both countries punish offenders by fines, probation, imprisonment and the death penalty. However, Japan is known for having some of the lowest crime rates in the world. This is very different from the United States, which has far higher crime rates than Japan. The point of this research is to determine if factors such as culture and the way prison systems are operated influence the recidivism rates of offenders. If so, this information would provide the United States with a potential method of obtaining lower recidivism and crime rates.