Lay jury trial gets under way; reluctance to participate high

Monday 03rd August, 05:41 PM JST

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taj at 01:08 PM JST - 3rd August

According to other reports, the defendent is not denying what the prosecution has to say in this case. He admits killing his neighbor. (A Korean, for those who were wondering about the foreign connections.) Apparently, the defense will be around trying to mitigate the sentence. The victim's son will be allowed to ask questions and give his thoughts on suitable sentencing, as well.

It is "expected" to wrap up by Thursday.
notimpressed at 01:44 PM JST - 3rd August

The jury system in Japan will only be used for sentencing, not in determining guilt or innocence. That is still up to the judge. In other words,a waste of time and a token effort. That is why they can guess the length of the proceedings, as most have already been carried out.
Makkun70 at 02:32 PM JST - 3rd August

What a joke, the decision is made in advance by the judge and the jury is just there to pass sentancing.

So a group of people who do not want to make a mistake are presented with 'a guilty person' what do you think the sentance will be?

So in effect you could get this wrapped up in 30 minutes so that they could all get back to being retired or house-wifing!
ilcub76 at 03:32 PM JST - 3rd August

The court sent summons to 73 people,

but....

Forty-seven of the 73 attended the selection process

What about the people who didn't attend? Will bench warrants be issued in the cases where there was no legitimate reason for being absent? It almost sounds like attendance at the selection process is not mandatory.
biglittleman at 07:23 PM JST - 3rd August

This idea is flawed. It still gives all the power to the judges which means the bribes and outside manipulation of the outcomes will continue.
harmoneeikaiwa at 07:43 PM JST - 3rd August

Over 70% willing to take part in jury trials: survey....

Was JT's headline last week.Today the above headline. Who is making up these stats ? Or just guessing ?
cruxman2001 at 08:22 PM JST - 3rd August

The conviction rate will stay at 97%, as the jurors will follow the police and prosecutors like sheep. Japanese are incapable of standing up for what they feel is the actual truth if authority figures are telling them what they should believe. If a Japanese juror were shown a video of the suspect on a live television show at the same time as the crime, they would still find them guilty if the police and prosecutor tell them to.

Remember also that the police have a long history of pressuring people through bosses and family and neighbors, and absolutely no accountability. Even if a juror had a rare fit of standing up for themselves, they will realize that their families and jobs are at stake, and get back in line. And if the suspect is a foreigner, the 97% will go to 100%; no one will want to back a filthy gaijin against representatives of the whole race.

It will make a difference, though; appeals will be automatically refused because "you had a jury trial".
WMD at 09:10 PM JST - 3rd August

cruxman2001 great post mate! That's exactly right. There's not a chance in hell that the japanese jurors will do anything other than agree with their me ga ue the professional judges. They are trained all their lives to obey, why should anything change now?? And yes, WE JAPANESE will certainly not find a japanese guilty vis a vis a mere worthless foreigner.
Patrick Smash at 10:42 PM JST - 3rd August

WMD, Cruxman2001, what are you guys on today? You can't possibly have ever thought for a second that this was anything other than an attempt to paper over the ludicrous Justice System by given it an air of legitimacy? No, thought not. Nice posts, except that they will find anyone they are told is guilty "guilty", regardless of nationality.
bobbafett at 12:08 AM JST - 4th August

I reckon the Polish guy in Osaka is in for a world of hurt.
taikan at 12:11 AM JST - 4th August

In many countries, the presiding judge is able to set the schedule for a trial, thus making it possible to determine with great precision exactly how long a trial will be. That doesn't mean that it is a "show" trial, but it does force each side to decide what evidence is most important to its case.

Also, for those who are fixated on the conviction rate in Japan, I suggest you study the conviction rate in criminal cases in your home country. You might be surprised. In the US, the conviction rate for those charged with federal crimes is greater than 90%. One reason for the high conviction rates in both instances is that prosecutors have discretion to decide which cases to prosecute, and therefore seldom bring cases they might lose because losing cases can be very damaging to the prosecutor's career.
sfjp330 at 05:51 AM JST - 4th August

The conviction rate will stay at 97%, as the jurors will follow the police and prosecutors like sheep. Japanese are incapable of standing up for what they feel is the actual truth if authority figures are telling them what they should believe.

cruxman2001

I really don't know where you got this statistics showing 97% coviction rate in Japan. I served in a jury duty in U.S. few times for felony case. Having a jury system makes procecutor and a defense attorney more of a even playing field. In U.S., you have 13 jury respresentative, in this case, Japan has 6 jury from a selected pool. I am not sure how the jury is selected in Japan, by I believe three of the six will be selected by the defense attorney, with criteria that favors the defense, and same number with the procecutor. This is a major step forward in fairness with japanese judicial system. I think the advantage of having a jury system will eventually have big impact on defense attorney. They will present a case in more of a different manner, and potential of having a realistic fair trial. This jury system will take time to evolve, as defense attorney and the procecutor fine tunes the rules. This is a big step for Japan and I applaud this change.
Shumatsu_Samurai at 07:02 AM JST - 4th August

It doesn't matter when I start commenting on these news articles - the Japan-bashers always get in there first.

First up, in most countries you'll find lots of people who hate being called to be a juror. (Who can honestly say in their country most people would welcome being a juror?) It's a system everyone wants for their own sake if they ever get charged with a serious crime but not one they usually want to contribute towards.

Second, Japanese people aren't going to get used to making decisions like this if they don't have a jury system. By having it you may find that after a number of years they'll embrace it more.

It's a good step forward for the Japanese justice system, and I hope it's maintained regardless of temporary opinion poll changes.
cruxman2001 at 09:24 AM JST - 4th August

The problem is not the system per se, it's the inability of Japanese to make independent decisions and stand by them in the face of even the slightest pressure by an authority figure. I once watched a crowd of people at a crowded festival nearly be burned to death by a parked truck which had caught fire because no one was willing to tell a security guard to move a plastic sawhorse that was blocking off a side street. It was only when a policeman arrived and moved it that the crowd escaped.

Now put those same people into a situation where they have policemen, judges and prosecutors giving them constant pressure (and knowing that the Japanese police will do nothing to protect witnesses and will harass their bosses and neighbors if they make the 'wrong' decision) and you tell me how often their decisions will go against the cops.

The jury system can put an element of fairness into trials, but only if adults willing to stand up for themselves are involved, not these whining overgrown children who'd rather watch celebrities eat ramen and say "oishii" 12 hours a day.

Shumatsu Samurai, you are right that people don't like to participate in other places, but most don't go to the streets and sign petitions to try and stop the system. And most people who get on a jury do their best and are not afraid to stand up for their opinions.
amerijap at 07:36 AM JST - 5th August

I'm not surprised with the statistics. The vast majority of people who don't want to involve in jury duty are not well trained in processing the legal arguments and testimonies at court. It will take time for them to find comfort zone, particularly when the trial deals with a criminal case. I wonder how the statistics would change if they deal with civil case such as libel lawsuit, divorce, or injunction.