Okuda Mizuki (Faculty of Law, Department of Law 2nd year) was presented with the Honorable Work Award of the 2020 Criminal Policies Essay Competition (Advisor：Abe Shota Assistant Professor of Faculty of Law, Department of Law).

The Criminal Policies Essay Competition looks for essays from undergraduate and graduate students that concern criminal policies. This competition is held by the Japan Criminal Policy Study Group (a General Incorporated Foundation) and the Yomiuri Shimbun with the view that understanding the ideas of criminal policies is crucial for creating a good society to live in.

The theme for this year’s competition was: On Criminal Policies in an Inclusive Society with Foreigners.
International residents living and working in Japan are as much a part of society as Japanese residents. However, differences in language culture and lifestyle together with problems of information inequality and economic, social, and lifestyle difficulties, present the possibility of international residents becoming perpetrators or victims of crimes and delinquency.
The competition sought to gather a wide range of proposals concerning criminal policy in an inclusive society; ideas offering a free perspective on how to help prevent foreign residents from becoming the victims or the perpetrators of crime, as well as supporting those who have made mistakes.

The title of the award-winning essay is “Introduction of an experience-based legal education system for international students: To alleviate stereotypes and prevent isolation of international students”.
Ms. Okuda proposed a policy that would prevent isolation of foreigners and alleviate prejudice towards them, through hands-on legal education for international students.
For this year’s competition, 1 essay of excellence and 3 essays of honorable work were selected and announced in the morning edition of the Yomiuri Shimbun on January 28, 2021.

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