[twblalock]

Japan has very low rates of drug crime, and the punishment is far more lenient than the death penalty.

Both Singapore and Japan have low rates of crime in general, especially drug crime and gun crime -- two kinds of crimes that depend on criminals having access to items that are highly regulated or completely banned.

I think the conclusion to draw from this is that islands are able to control their borders pretty well, and they can prevent a lot of contraband from coming in. That alone is sufficient to explain the low rate of drug crime in Japan, where drug trafficking is not a capital crime. It's probably also sufficient for Singapore, which means that the death penalty explanation is probably overdetermined.

[donw]

Japan has low crime, by and large, because they have only a single criminal organization: the Yakuza.

They are not nice people, but as criminal organizations go, having one that views itself as the protector of the people isn't so bad.

After the massive earthquake a few years ago, the Yakuza were among the first to offer aid and assistance to the region -- ahead of the national government, even.

And, if you are going to engage in criminal enterprise in Japan, you need their blessing. If you attempt to sell drugs here without their permission, you will quickly find yourself suffering from an acute case of death.

[twblalock]

The Yakuza is far from being a single, unified criminal organization.

Even if there were a single organization controlling all drug trafficking, that would not explain why drug crime, and drug use, are so low in Japan.