Summary
Though, Japan has a high quality legal system, there are several issues that need to be addressed by the national government. These issues include: the unreasonable amount of discretionary powers prosecutors have and a shortage of lawyers.
I. INTRODUCTION
By receiving a score of fifteen out of sixteen (with a score of one being a failing score and a score of sixteen being an excellent score) by Freedom House, a nonprofit organization dedicated to monitoring the protection of civil liberties around the world, Japan has a well-regarded legal system (Japan). Despite being in the upper tier in terms of quality, Japan’s legal system does have problems that need to be addressed by its national government. These problems include: the unreasonable amount of discretionary power that prosecutors have and a shortage of lawyers.
II. POWERFUL PROSECUTORS Jeff Kingston’s work, “Justice on Trial: Japanese Prosecutors Under Fire,” highlights how much discretionary power prosecutors have. Prosecutors have the power to decide whether a suspect in custody will receive legal representation and the power to hold a suspect in detention beyond twenty-three days (2). This unreasonable amount of discretionary power is a result of judges in Japan sitting idly by and not playing their intended watchdog role (2). This deference to prosecutorial authority from judges is highlighted when a prosecutor requests an extension beyond twenty-three days; it is rare for a judge to deny a request for a
This essay will explore how prosecutorial misconduct causes wrongful convictions in both the United States and Australia. This essay will also argue that rehabilitation and compensation should be provided by the state. A major flaw in the criminal justice system not only in the United States but also in Australia, is the failure to set forth a plan for the people who were exonerated to be accepted back into society. The lack of a plan for rehabilitation for the exonerated poses a problem for society since some might find it easier to find a job in prison then in the real world, this process makes it immensely difficult for prisoners to get acclimated back into society. The Australian Law Review Committee is an entity which evaluates and gives
Why not focus on just one nation instead of studying the problem of wrongful convictions across different nations? Research has been justified by comparative studies, satisfying the curiosity of the other nation’s justice system. The benefits of obtaining research from other nation’s studies is the most important. Often, we learn more about our own justice system by looking at it in the perspective of another nation 's system. The compare and contrast that we look at will decide whether our system should be improved so that what is served is justified. The improvement of justice through the reduction errors has made us undergo research. Therefore, the ones who take part to the cross national analysis and learning from each other about the ways the other nation’s systems work to avoid wrongful convictions.
Article 9. The Diet shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Every person shall have freedom of religious belief, and the special privileges that every shrine has ever had shall be abolished.
In the course preserving the law and order, the effectiveness of the system designed to administer justice cannot be over emphasized. Faith in the adjudicatory system by the populace is often underscored by the satisfaction the populace derives from it in terms of its administration of justice. Hence it is pertinent to analyze the approach certain countries are employ in their respective adjudicatory process.
It is not without questionable doubt that the United States judiciary branch is in need of a major political reform in terms of the injustice that has become so common within the system. The main purpose of the judicial system is to rightfully resolve disagreements according to law. In 1988, Ronald Kitchen was wrongfully convicted for committing five murders, after serving nearly 21 years in prison in which 13 of them on death row he was released. There was an insufficient amount of evidence against him, however, it was the tortures that he endured for almost two days that coerced false confessions from Kitchen to pleading guilty to the murders. The justice system has lost its true purpose of finding justice for whoever is truly at fault. Instead of truth-seeking, court cases have become more about self-interest and winning. Majority of cases do not even reach trial, before then the guilty are let go free or let off easy while the innocent take guilty pleas in fear of risking loosing at trial. Today’s trials just involve two sides in continuous debate that end in the hope for the judge and jury to be able to emerge the truth. Modern judiciary branch has become so accustomed to the idea that court is a neutral course and the judges
The justice system in the United States has two systems, federal and state levels and not only one nationwide structure such as in Finland. The resemblance and differential among the justice systems of the United States and Finland. The similarities and dissimilarities amongst the U.S. and Finland to a degree, the format
Wrongful convictions have even touched Japan. A man by the name of Govinda Prasad Mainali had spent 15 years in jail for a murder that in no way did he commit. He was convicted back in 2000 of the murder of a Japanese woman.(BBC) During his trial, there never was a DNA test done on the evidence that was collected under the victim’s fingernails, hair and body. Mainali was convicted of the crime because of association; since he knew the victim very well and even lived near her, the prosecution was able to prove his guilt with little to no physical evidence. In 2005 though, after an appeal by Mainali, a DNA test was completed on the semen that was found within and on the victim and it was not a match to Mainali, therefore he was
2. What can be done to reduce prosecutorial misconduct? In my opinion extra judicial oversight could be used to try and reduce prosecutorial misconduct.
Japan operates under the Eastern Asia legal tradition, whereas the United States operates under the common legal tradition. The differences are quite distinct. For example, according to Hahn (1983):
There are three women on the Supreme Court, one of whom is Latina, and there is one black justice serving on the Supreme Court (Brown, 2016). This is a major issue. The United States, the “melting pot”, has an extreme lack of diversity in their court system. This is an issue that affects several aspects of society. Decisions made by judges will affect the lives of men, women, and their families. The decisions made by judges can also create law. Unlike political officials, the people do not always have the power to vote judges into their positions. Instead, the people hope that their peers with the power to affect the system choose a candidate that will fight for them. Often times, this does not happen.
Most people don’t know about the three major components of the criminal justice system, but, in this paper the reader will know what they are. The reader will also read about how the three components interrelate to one another, and also how the conflict one another. The
Japan is generally weighed as being an eccentric, yet remarkable country compared to most. It 's unmistakable and precious culture, industrialized triumph, and immense conformity of the population is just a few examples. Having these standards, Japan has been examined and distinguished to be one of the most leading countries for the lowest crime rate in the world. “Japan shows the lowest overall crime rate with 22 incidents per 100 inhabitants, and the second lowest property crime rate” (Entorf, Spengler, 2002:21). This is a tremendous achievement for such an industrialized and high-populated country. Perhaps, some are contemplating on how Japan became to have one of the lowest crime rates, along with its influence and operation of its law enforcement system used today to service this success. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to educate and present a meticulous understanding of law enforcement in Japan as a whole. This paper will highlight the following: provide an analysis of the history, structure and organization of the Japanese system, the education and training requirements, issues being encountered regarding law enforcement, and the Japanese system that is being used currently.
Japan has a relatively stable political and legal environment which reduces the risks associated with entering the foreign market. The political system is a democratic system, with a Westminster form of government similar to Australia, which is favourable for western cultures when conducting international business. The legal environment on the other hand, is built on the foundations of the European Civil Law system with an English-American influence. Therefore Australian businesses must understand the differences when conducting business to ensure the
To what extent is it a concern that the judiciary of a country is unreflective of the diversity within that countries population?
Justice P.N. Bhagwati rightly observed that our system of administration of justice suffers two serious defects, namely, delay and expense.