Hiroshi Hiyama -
The arrest of former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn has thrown the international spotlight on Japan’s criminal justice system, where suspects face prolonged detention and interrogation without lawyers present.
Rights groups, lawyers and legal scholars have for years criticised the system, which relies heavily on squeezing out a “confession” from a suspect after lengthy questioning.
Colin Jones, a professor at Doshisha Law School, wrote recently in the Japan Times daily that the system is often referred to as “hitojichi shiho” or “hostage-based justice system”.
“The ‘hostage’ is the suspect. The ‘ransom’ is their confession,” wrote Jones.
There is little public appetite for change, as Japan’s ultra-safe streets mean ordinary people have no experience of crime and often view it as an abstract concept.
Authorities defend the status quo, arguing the nation’s legal protocols have emerged out of Japan’s unique culture and history.
Ghosn, 64, was arrested on November 19 and the court has granted prosecutors’ requests to hold him through December 10 to decide whether to indict him on charges of under-reporting his salary.
Prosecutors are expected to file additional charges against the tycoon and with each charge they can seek to hold him for another 22 days with limited access to his lawyers.
Even after that, he can still be held in pre-trial detention.
All this has prompted some criticism abroad, particularly in France, where the tycoon holds citizenship.
The Japanese system “creates an environment which makes it possible for aggressive interrogations and risks producing forced confessions and false convictions,” the Japan arm of Amnesty International said.
Hirofumi Uchida, criminal law specialist and professor emeritus at Kyushu University in western Japan, said: “We need to bring the system up to par with international standards,” he said.
Shin Kukimoto, deputy chief prosecutor at Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, lashed out at foreign criticism of their work in a recent news conference.
“We do not unnecessarily keep people in custody for a long time,” Kukimoto said.
“Investigations determine the outcome of the process, not trials,” said Kana Sasakura, professor at Konan University.
The defence is often reduced to arguing for clemency in sentencing rather than trying to win the case. — AFP
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