U.S. gov't report criticizes Japan's criminal court system

It's true that the Japanese police will use PHYSICAL FORCE to try to get you to sign and confess to documents in JAPANESE, before you are even proven guilty, or on shady evidence (all the while
trying to get ahold of your company to inform them you're guilty so they'll fire you).

 

Japan should just declare criminals enemy combatants, then they wouldn't even need to get confessions.

 

You can't seriously be suggesting that America's claim against Japan is not without merit, considering a 99.9%!!!!!!! guilty outcome statistic. If you are tried in court, you have a one in a thousand chance to be acquitted. Do you honestly think that only 1 in 1000 people arrested are innocent? Get your head on straight.

 

As for the article, it's true that the Japanese police will use PHYSICAL FORCE to try to get you to sign and confess to documents in JAPANESE, before you are even proven guilty, or on shady evidence (all the while
trying to get ahold of your company to inform them you're guilty so they'll fire you).

Moderator: Readers, please keep your comments focused on Japan, not the U.S.

 

Its the difference between guilty until proven innocent (Japan) and innocent until proven guilty (America, ideally anyway).

 

well, that's quite true as many posters here have pointed out. Of course the US system tends to favor the defendant, as the OJ criminal trial also points out. Both systems reflect different points of view by society.

On the other hand I have to agree that the US is in a rather poor position to be telling Japan that they have human rights issues in the legal system.

 

So, he was judged guilty because he confessed being guilty even though he wasn't. Not a very good example of your point US state dept...

 

Of course it is not a good point when you take only a small portion of it out of context. The reason the main admitted to being guilty was the problem with that case and one of the biggest problem with the system.

He was coerced into confessing. There are a many case(especially involving foreigners) where the police write confessions themselves and then and will not release the suspects even to get medical treatment until they sign the paper. Those people are convicted by those papers without them being brought into question.

The Japanese legal system is what the American legal system is turning into. Instead of doing things the just way and trying to find the guilty party while protecting the innocent, they simply try to close the case by convicting the easiest or most applicable target. When they get someone in their sights they hound them and threaten into saying what they want. You can get many people to say many things with by playing mind games with them and putting them in a position of constant fear. One of the most common ones that is used "Your probably going to be convicted and if you are you will get a heavy sentence but if you admit(or do something else they request) we can give you a lighter sentence."

 

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And stop trying to run the world , for crying out loud.

Besides the US system isn't all the ' just' either.

=

 

It's not a question of the US trying to 'run the world' at all.
But a look at the medieval nature of Japanese jurisprudence.
It's an evil farce from the inside and a comedy from without.

Like rusty turbines grinding to life, the naysayers of the US
will be out in force today. The fact is; the Japanese system is
in need of a serious overhaul. The system here is no different than judge Roy Bean's
'Law West of the Pecos' and I'm quite serious.

Some Japanese judges have openly said;
"Anyone that comes before me is sentenced" and this is law? Gimme a break...
This is medieval and as a non American I for one
say; thank God for their interventions, especially if it slaps some sense into these idiots.

 

I'm American and I am ashamed of such a comment from my country.

Recently CNN and MSNBC have reported that America has imprisoned more people than any other country in the world.

And we say that our system is better than Japan?

Shame on America for this stupid little comment.

 

90% of above posters have got it right. yes america is far from perfect but the focus of this is the Japanese legal system which no-one with an ounce of reason, common sense or conscience would defend.

 

One good thing about the Japanese system is that it gives "law ignorant" people a feeling of confidence. Many Japanese are unaware that justice is more than just sentencing nearly everyone the police choose. Not much understanding of the separation of powers.

I'd like to think that the new lay judge system will help as intended, but I believe it will just make things worse.

 

Surely the US is secretly envious of such a kangaroo-ish court system?

 

US criticizing Japan here is like North Korea criticizing Swtizerland. Japan and US is a different galaxy when coming to the criminal court system. The sooner Americans realize the better it is for them.