12 Comments

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  sensei258 at 05:29 PM JST - 6th August

  Why should the police get to say whether a person deserves to be punished? Isn't it their job to investigate and let the courts decide if somebody deserves to be punished.

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  taikan at 01:37 AM JST - 7th August

  Police and prosecutors generally have what is known as "prosecutorial discretion." This means that they get to make the initial decisions regarding whether to go forward with criminal charges. In many countries, including the US, if the police decide the evidence is not sufficient to prosecute then the matter never is referred to prosecutors at all. In Japan, however, there are many situations where the police are required to provide a report to prosecutors even if the police think there is insufficient evidence to charge someone with a crime. Therefore, the police must include a recommendation in each report they give to the local prosecutor's office.

  Even if the police do think there is sufficient evidence, the prosecutor also has to come to the same conclusion. If the prosecutor also thinks there is sufficient evidence, then the matter is brought to court, where ultimately the judge (or, in some countries, a jury or mixed panel of judges and laypersons) decides whether the accused is guilty or not.

  In other words, in Japan as in most other countries (except for police states), if someone is to be punished that will occur only after a court decides that person deserves to be punished. However, police and prosecutors can prevent punishment by not filing charges in the first place.

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  LIBERTAS at 06:55 AM JST - 7th August

  "In Japan as in most other countries (except for police states)" seems like a self-contradictory statement. Japan IS, for all intents and purposes, a Police State, in many respects. sensei258 I agree. The assessment of culpability should happen in an unbiased court facing accurate evidence. Confirming my belief that Japan is a Police State!

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  medievaltimes at 09:00 AM JST - 7th August

  I guess its good they are investigating this guy but a few points.

  -This happened three years ago. Why now? Did it really take them this long to reach a decision?

  -Isnt it already pretty clear that the company's procedures made being on time take a priority over safety? They punished late drivers by making them pull weeds at stations, hand write the company policy books, and even gave them pay cuts.

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  Youdontknow at 09:05 AM JST - 7th August

  Stupid J-cops and prosecutors. This isn't the fault of the JR West president! It's solely the fault of the driver who operated the train with blatant disregard for operating procedure.

  The guy at the top didn't get there by messing around!

  Sometimes the stupidity of the Japanese bureaucratic mind is beyond comprehension!

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  mindovermatter at 09:21 AM JST - 7th August

  Police and prosecutors generally have what is known as "prosecutorial discretion." This means that they get to make the initial decisions regarding whether to go forward with criminal charges. In many countries, including the US, if the police decide the evidence is not sufficient to prosecute then the matter never is referred to prosecutors at all.

  Partly true.... With a couple exceptions...

  (1) In Japan: Police, Prosecutors & Judges (Justices) are tied at the hip... If the police say something happened, for all practical purposes... It Did! Judges rule on what they think happened, not based on evidence.

  (2) In the States, police only report and gather evidence on crimes..They have no formal saying in what get prosecuted and what doesn't... It's all on the prosecutor (which except for the federal gov, is elected by voter's to represent the public's interests)...

  And even if the prosecutor decides he doesn't want to proceed with charges against somebody, he can be directed to prosecute somebody... I.E... the Mayor, Governor, President...etc... Not sure if this is possible in Japan...

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  Altria at 09:33 AM JST - 7th August

  Yeah, the president totally could have stopped that train from crashing!

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  JeffLee at 10:36 AM JST - 7th August

  The allocation of blame in the Japanese justice system frightens me. Often, it seems that just because a person is powerful or rich, then they automatically must take the blame for others. In this case, the driver clearly violated stated operating procedures, which led directly to the crash, using his own volition.

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  franz75 at 10:52 AM JST - 7th August

  He maybe wasn't driving the train but as manager he should have been able to prevent such accident. Therefore he does share some reponsabilities. From the driver that crashed the train to the president, everyone does share some reponsabilities.

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  floyd_43 at 11:08 AM JST - 7th August

  Absolutely disagree with those who say the president was not to blame. He was in charge of and propogated a system where safety was compromised - and as such, he is as much to blame as the poor sod who drove too fast because of the pressure put on train drivers to make sure that the trains run on time, even if it means bending or even blatantly disregarding safety rules and procedures.

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  smithinjapan at 12:41 PM JST - 7th August

  I'm sure his 'punishment' will be limited to a two month pay cut (down 0.5% from normal) and a 'humble' apology.

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  dennis0bauer at 03:33 PM JST - 7th August

  Yes It was the management policy that indirectly caused the accident, And Managers are there to share the responsibillities, they should be accountable. They put higher priority on the timetable than on the passangers safety.

  i do not mind a 2 minute train delay it is still 10 times less than in my own country.

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