This paper investigates the attitudes and beliefs that the public hold about criminal behaviour in Japanese and Australian society with a view to uncovering sources of resistance and support for restorative justice. The study draws on a survey of 1544 respondents from Japan and 1967 respondents from Australia. In both societies, restorative justice met with greater acceptance among those who were strong in social capital, who believed in offender reintegration and rehabilitation, who saw benefits for victims in forgiveness, and who were advocates for victims' voices being heard and amends made. The alternative 'just deserts' and deterrence models for dealing with crime were grounded in attitudes of punitiveness and fear of moral decay, and reservations about the value of reintegrating and rehabilitating offenders. Like restorative justice supporters, 'just deserts' and deterrence supporters expressed concern that victims' voices be heard and amends made. Winning public support for competing institutional arrangements may depend on who does best in meeting expectations for meeting the needs of victims.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.