This project is conducting a content analysis of prefectural Recidivism Prevention Promotion Plans in Japan (n=31), focusing particularly on: the policy 'problems' of recidivism (acts of crime and deviance/conditions of offending); the policy objectives; and the policy measures that will be implemented. Placed within the context of theoretical debates surrounding convergence and divergence in control cultures, the findings of this project will provide empirical insights into the ways in which subnational locales are framing problems and responses to recidivism and the extent to which this is leading to variation within Japan.