An introduction notes that China is commonly viewed as a society in which governmental control over the individual is almost absolute and which has no crime problem and that Japan is perceived as a society of order, conformity, and safety. An analysis of Japanese society challenges the notion of the country as a "shame culture" where social pressures to force all individuals to conform, notes that nonconformity is significant and highly visible in Japanese juvenile subcultures, and describes Japanese street gangs and organized crime. An additional paper explores the fears and handling of juveniles in the People's Republic of China, with emphasis on the increasing fear of crime among youths, their distrust of the justice system relative to their elders, increasing juvenile delinquency in China, theories proposed by Chinese scholars, and the gongdu (work-study) system in which most youthful offenders in China are placed. Further papers examine policing and police procedure in China and note its increasing selectivity, discuss illegal activities and immigration policies in Hong Kong, challenge the common belief that a complex organization of Chinese criminals is responsible for heroin exportation from Southeast Asia, and examine the increasing fear of crime in Japan and the gap between perceptions and realities. Chapter reference lists