THIS INTRODUCTION TO A BOOK OF PAPERS ON INNOVATIONS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC EMPHASIZES THOSE CONDITIONS THAT ARE SPECIFICALLY GERMANE TO THAT REGION, WITH ONLY A SECONDARY FOCUS ON THOSE ISSUES THAT ARE AKIN TO PROBLEMS IN THE WEST. A REVIVAL OF TRADITIONAL SYSTEMS OF LAW HAS BEGUN IN ASIA, AS IT IS EXPECTED THAT, CUSTOMOMARY LAW COUPLED WITH LAW ENFORCEME PRACTICES INHERITED FROM COLONIAL POWERS MAY MAKE LAW MORE COMPREHENSIBLE TO THE PEOPLE. TWO GENERAL PROBLEMS FACED BY ASIAN COUNTRIES BEEN THE LABELING OF SOCIALLY UNDESIREABLE BEHAVIOR AS 'CRIMINAL,' AND THE BELIEF THAT INSTITUTIONALIZATION IS A CURE FOR CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR, WHEREAS NEW PERSPECTIVES ON SOCIAL JUSTICE CONCENTRATE MORE ON SOCIAL DEFENSE AND PREVENTION. MUCH OF THE CRIME IN ASIA FOLLOWING WORLD WAR II HAS BEEN SOCIOECONOMIC CRIME, WHICH IS SEEN AS RESULTING FROM THE DISPARITY BETWEEN THE RICH AND POOR. OTHER CULTURAL AND SOCIAL BASES FOR CRIME, THE DEMOGRAPHIC MAKEUP OF ASIA AS A WHOLE (TWO-THIRDS OF THE POPULATION IS UNDER AGE 25), AND THE DIFFERENT WAYS THESE COUNTRIES CHOOSE TO PROTECT SOCIETY UNDER COMBINATIONS OF COLONIAL AND FREE RULE ARE SUMMARIZED. (RFC)