Until 1961, Japanese Public Law 39 declared that a man under the influence of alcohol was "temporarily of unsound mind" and could not be held legally responsible for anything he did when drunk. Japanese men, so proper and polite when sober, could when drunk commit mischief and mayhem they would normally consider unspeakable – including crimes as serious as murder – without fear of arrest, lawsuits or jail time. No one, including habitual alcoholic offenders, was ordered into alcohol rehab, because getting drunk was more or less a man's god-given right.



Public Law 39, dating from 1907, was amended in 1961 to declare that drunks were henceforth indeed responsible for their actions. We might think this a little late compared to the laws regarding alcohol abuse here and in much of the rest of the world. But Japan's culture was its own, and goodness knows how many barbaric American customs give the Japanese the willies.

But it was estimated that before the law changed, as many as 10 murderers a year went unpunished – not to mention all the wife-beatings, injuries to others, and damage to private property. Perpetrators who committed crimes while under the influence of alcohol weren't jailed and ordered into alcohol rehab programs –drug and alcohol rehab was not widely known at the time. However, a stern lecture to amend one's behavior was often administered by a policeman or other official.

Back in the 1950s and early 1960s, there were stories going around about how some Japanese police, forced to gently detain a drunk overnight because he was just too far gone to be safely left out in public, would tape record his loud and abusive behavior. The next morning, the cops would play the tape back to him – and to his irate wife if she came to pick him up. The theory was that the abusive shouts, threats, rude language and drunken behavior were so shameful that the man would think twice about getting publicly drunk and abusive again.

It wasn't exactly alcohol rehab, but perhaps it was effective for the culture at the time. Disturbing the peace – or the "wa" as it is called in Japan, more akin to "harmony" – is something the Japanese were acutely uncomfortable with.

A half-century has passed since the new law was adopted in Japan, a law similar to the law in America that holds drug and alcohol abusers legally responsible for their acts while under the influence. Yet look at the situation: alcohol abuse in all the drinking countries of the world continues to cost society untold billions in social costs, damaged families and lost lives. The need for drug and alcohol rehab continues to outstrip the availability of drug and alcohol rehab programs.

Punishing alcohol abusers with jail time and fines for their drunken crimes is all well and good. But people who cannot control their drinking or themselves when they have been drinking need alcohol rehab. The Japanese had it at least partly right – people under the influence of alcohol are "temporarily of unsound mind." Only a thorough and complete alcohol rehab program can handle the real reasons behind why someone feels the need to do that to their mind in spite of the often horrific consequences.