From Japan Today, 10/17/16.
Japan is known for being one of the countries with the lowest crime rate in the world. Numerous reasons are given for this such as the illegality of weapons, a smaller wealth gap, or unspoken rules of conduct that people live by.
But one other factor behind such low crime could have a darker reason to it: fear of the Japanese legal system.
Al Jazeera news recently put out a documentary on that very subject, showing one of the scarier parts of Japan that most people don’t have experience with. The full video is below.
The documentary follows the story of Keiko Aoki, a woman who in 1995 was convicted of setting her house on fire and intentionally murdering her daughter to collect life insurance money. Her conviction was based solely on her and her husband’s written confessions that they claimed were made under extreme duress.
Keiko and her husband spent the next 20 years in jail, claiming they were innocent the entire time. It wasn’t until earlier this year that the verdict for their retrial was finally delivered, proclaiming them not guilty.
But why would someone confess to a crime they didn’t commit? Put simply, the documentary claims that the Japanese legal system is designed to extract confessions no matter what.
In Keiko’s case, she was held in an interrogation room with police investigators who constantly yelled and berated her for 12 hours straight. She was never allowed to see a lawyer. Eventually, she was told by police that her husband had already confessed to the crime, so she should too. Mentally destroyed, she gave up and wrote a confession dictated to her by police.
Keiko claims that confusion, exhaustion, and the guilt of not being able to save her daughter came together to make her admit to a crime she was innocent of.
In Japan, anyone can be held by police for 23 days without being charged. Lawyers are not allowed in interrogation rooms, and police are not required to record any of the interrogation sessions. As Hiroshi Ichikawa, a former Japanese prosecutor described, investigators can just rotate in and out as they get tired of questioning the suspect, until he or she is so mentally exhausted that they will admit to anything to make it stop.
But why is the Japanese legal system so intense when it comes to extracting confessions from the accused? Ichikawa claims it’s because there’s immense pressure on police and prosecutors to obtain a guilty verdict. In a country with a near universal conviction rate, no one wants to be the only lawyer who failed to get a guilty verdict, so they’ll do anything to get it.
The documentary is very enlightening about a part of Japan that is rarely discussed. If you want to watch the full documentary, check it out on Al Jazeera’s website or official YouTube page.
When it comes to false convictions and innocent people behind bars, Japan is not alone. The U.S. and other developed countries have just as many – if not more – legal problems. But the only way any of them can change is by getting the word out that there is a problem in the first place, and this documentary is a great first step in letting people know that the system that is supposed to serve them is broken.
Source: https://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/japan-guilty-until-proven-innocent-documentary-shines-light-on-controversial-legal-system
See the film below.
See related VAOJ posts on this subject:
"Documentary on Forced Confessions Screened in Tokyo"
URL: http://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.jp/2008/06/documentary-on-forced-confessions.html
"Law change would tape interrogations"
URL: http://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.jp/2014/05/law-change-would-tape-interrogations.html
Showing posts with label interrogations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label interrogations. Show all posts
Monday, October 17, 2016
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Fewer Coerced Confessions with Videotaping Interrogations?
Diet passes legislation to revamp Japan’s criminal justice system
From The Japan Times, 5/24/16.
The Diet on Tuesday passed an amendment mandating for the first time the recording of police interrogations as well as changes to the existing wiretap law and the adoption of a plea bargain system, in reforms representing a significant turning point in Japan’s criminal justice system.
The measures are an attempt to revamp the nation’s notoriously opaque judicial process. Under the new requirements, police and prosecutors will be obliged for the first time to videotape certain criminal interrogations in a bid to prevent the authorities from eliciting coerced confessions.
Investigators have been recording interrogations at their own discretion.
Subject to the new requirements, however, are only those interrogations in extremely grave cases, such as murder, arson and kidnapping, that will be tried under the lay judge system, as well as cases specially investigated by prosecutors.
Together, they account for a mere 3 percent of all criminal cases, spurring concerns the revisions will likely have little impact in preventing coerced confessions.
With the introduction of the plea bargain system, the authorities will be allowed to offer those accused of drug trafficking and white-collar crimes, such as bribery and tax evasion, special deals to encourage them to divulge information on accomplices, including ringleaders, in exchange for lighter sentences or dropped charges.
Included in the new laws are penalties that can be applied if a suspect provides false leads and a requirement that such negotiations take place in the presence of the suspect’s lawyer.
The wiretap law, previously limited to cases such as those related to drugs and weapons, has expanded to cover crimes including fraud and theft in an attempt to rein in organized crime.
The revisions were submitted based on recommendations made by the Justice Ministry’s Legislative Council in 2014 in response to the wrongful arrest and indictment of welfare ministry official Atsuko Muraki, who stood accused of fraud.
In the 2009 scandal, prosecutors altered evidence against Muraki and extracted forced confessions from the suspects involved, igniting criticism over the lack of transparency in the criminal justice system. Muraki was eventually acquitted.
The Japan Federation of Bar Associations released a statement Tuesday hailing the videotape mandate as a step forward. But the group cautioned that plea bargaining may result in suspects giving false information, raising the risks for miscarriages of justice, and the expanded wiretap law could infringe on privacy rights.
Source: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/05/24/national/diet-passes-legislation-revamp-japans-secretive-judicial-system/
Click here for previous VAOJ coverage of this issue.
From The Japan Times, 5/24/16.
The Diet on Tuesday passed an amendment mandating for the first time the recording of police interrogations as well as changes to the existing wiretap law and the adoption of a plea bargain system, in reforms representing a significant turning point in Japan’s criminal justice system.
The measures are an attempt to revamp the nation’s notoriously opaque judicial process. Under the new requirements, police and prosecutors will be obliged for the first time to videotape certain criminal interrogations in a bid to prevent the authorities from eliciting coerced confessions.
Investigators have been recording interrogations at their own discretion.
Subject to the new requirements, however, are only those interrogations in extremely grave cases, such as murder, arson and kidnapping, that will be tried under the lay judge system, as well as cases specially investigated by prosecutors.
Together, they account for a mere 3 percent of all criminal cases, spurring concerns the revisions will likely have little impact in preventing coerced confessions.
With the introduction of the plea bargain system, the authorities will be allowed to offer those accused of drug trafficking and white-collar crimes, such as bribery and tax evasion, special deals to encourage them to divulge information on accomplices, including ringleaders, in exchange for lighter sentences or dropped charges.
Included in the new laws are penalties that can be applied if a suspect provides false leads and a requirement that such negotiations take place in the presence of the suspect’s lawyer.
The wiretap law, previously limited to cases such as those related to drugs and weapons, has expanded to cover crimes including fraud and theft in an attempt to rein in organized crime.
The revisions were submitted based on recommendations made by the Justice Ministry’s Legislative Council in 2014 in response to the wrongful arrest and indictment of welfare ministry official Atsuko Muraki, who stood accused of fraud.
In the 2009 scandal, prosecutors altered evidence against Muraki and extracted forced confessions from the suspects involved, igniting criticism over the lack of transparency in the criminal justice system. Muraki was eventually acquitted.
The Japan Federation of Bar Associations released a statement Tuesday hailing the videotape mandate as a step forward. But the group cautioned that plea bargaining may result in suspects giving false information, raising the risks for miscarriages of justice, and the expanded wiretap law could infringe on privacy rights.
Source: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/05/24/national/diet-passes-legislation-revamp-japans-secretive-judicial-system/
Click here for previous VAOJ coverage of this issue.
Friday, June 20, 2014
"Interrogation audiovisual recordings set to expand"
From The Japan News, 20 June 2014:
The Supreme Public Prosecutors Office said Wednesday it will expand the test interrogation audiovisual recording program from October.
Currently under the program, public prosecutors record the questioning of criminal suspects in cases with lay judges, as well as suspects with mental disorders.
The recording is conducted as part of prosecutors’ three-year efforts to restore credibility that was undermined by evidence falsification and cover-up scandals at the Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office.
Now that the program has proved the recordings’ effectiveness in helping the court determine whether suspects gave confessions to interrogators voluntarily and whether they are credible, the nation’s top prosecutors office plans to record the questioning process for bribery suspects, sexual violence and child abuse victims, and spouses of murder suspects, the office said.
Source: http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0001364503
The Supreme Public Prosecutors Office said Wednesday it will expand the test interrogation audiovisual recording program from October.
Currently under the program, public prosecutors record the questioning of criminal suspects in cases with lay judges, as well as suspects with mental disorders.
The recording is conducted as part of prosecutors’ three-year efforts to restore credibility that was undermined by evidence falsification and cover-up scandals at the Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office.
Now that the program has proved the recordings’ effectiveness in helping the court determine whether suspects gave confessions to interrogators voluntarily and whether they are credible, the nation’s top prosecutors office plans to record the questioning process for bribery suspects, sexual violence and child abuse victims, and spouses of murder suspects, the office said.
Source: http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0001364503
Friday, May 2, 2014
"Law change would tape interrogations"
VAOJ has been covering this issue of visualization for some time now. Here's the latest from The Japan News, 5/2/14:
Proposed changes to the criminal justice system are likely to require investigative authorities to record audio and video of the entire interrogation of suspects, according to Justice Ministry sources.
The proposals advanced by the ministry call for the entire process of interrogation by police and public prosecutors to be recorded in what has been called the “visualization” of questioning in Japan. Every stage of interrogation, from the arrest of a suspect to his or her indictment, would be subject to recording.
The proposed system would also authorize plea bargaining, an agreement between the defendant and prosecution in which the accused agrees to plead guilty in exchange for concessions from prosecutors.
On Wednesday, the ministry submitted its proposals to a sectional meeting of the Legislative Council, an advisory panel to the justice minister. Most of the proposals were approved by the council’s special committee on the establishment of a new criminal justice system, the sources said.
However, the committee is still divided over whether recordings should be limited to criminal cases subject to trial by the lay judge system, or whether the proposed method should be applied to all crimes. This will likely make it difficult for the committee to reach a consensus on the issue, according to observers.
Another change advocated in the proposals is an expansion of the scope of cases in which investigators may be authorized to use wiretaps as part of their investigations.
The special committee is scheduled to draw up a final report as early as this summer, and then submit it to the justice minister in autumn. The ministry will seek to submit bills aimed at translating the proposals into action to next year’s ordinary Diet session, including one designed to revise the Criminal Procedure Code.
Read the whole story: http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0001249839
Click here for previous VAOJ coverage.
Chart borrowed from The Japan News, 5/2/14
Proposed changes to the criminal justice system are likely to require investigative authorities to record audio and video of the entire interrogation of suspects, according to Justice Ministry sources.
The proposals advanced by the ministry call for the entire process of interrogation by police and public prosecutors to be recorded in what has been called the “visualization” of questioning in Japan. Every stage of interrogation, from the arrest of a suspect to his or her indictment, would be subject to recording.
The proposed system would also authorize plea bargaining, an agreement between the defendant and prosecution in which the accused agrees to plead guilty in exchange for concessions from prosecutors.
On Wednesday, the ministry submitted its proposals to a sectional meeting of the Legislative Council, an advisory panel to the justice minister. Most of the proposals were approved by the council’s special committee on the establishment of a new criminal justice system, the sources said.
However, the committee is still divided over whether recordings should be limited to criminal cases subject to trial by the lay judge system, or whether the proposed method should be applied to all crimes. This will likely make it difficult for the committee to reach a consensus on the issue, according to observers.
Another change advocated in the proposals is an expansion of the scope of cases in which investigators may be authorized to use wiretaps as part of their investigations.
The special committee is scheduled to draw up a final report as early as this summer, and then submit it to the justice minister in autumn. The ministry will seek to submit bills aimed at translating the proposals into action to next year’s ordinary Diet session, including one designed to revise the Criminal Procedure Code.
Read the whole story: http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0001249839
Click here for previous VAOJ coverage.
Friday, February 24, 2012
"NPA panel calls for more 'visualization'"
Can't get enough visualization... Here's the latest on this ridiculous situation (click here and here for background information) - story from The Daily Yomiuri Online, 2/24/12:
An expert panel of the National Police Agency proposed in its final report released Thursday that recording of the results of questioning in investigations--a practice called "visualization"--should be implemented in a wider range of cases.
Currently, parts of the investigation process in cases subject to lay judge trials in which defendants have admitted guilt are subject to visualization by audio or video recording, but the panel said this was not sufficient.
The report proposes implementing audio or video recording on a test basis in a wider range of cases in which defendants insist they are not guilty.
Based on the report, the NPA plans to instruct all prefectural police headquarters to test-implement visualization in a wider range of cases starting in April.
The recording of investigative questioning by police started in September 2008.
The measure was taken in cases chosen by police from among serious cases subject to the lay judge system, such as murder, robbery resulting in homicide and dangerous driving resulting in death, in which it might be questioned whether defendants' statements were truly voluntary.
By the end of last year, such visualization had been implemented in a total of 1,587 cases.
Defendants who insisted they were not guilty were excluded from the measure on the grounds that it is not necessary to prove their statements were voluntary.
From now on, visualization will be implemented even in cases of defendants insisting they are not guilty to prove questioning was properly conducted and avoid wrongful convictions.
The scenes that are currently recorded are those of police officers reading an account of what the defendant has already said in earlier questioning and then asking the defendant to confirm it.
Such scenes, about 15 minutes long, are recorded on DVD. (my bolding...)
The panel says that from now on visualization should also be implemented to record suspects' statements just after their arrest and to record changes in the content of suspects' statements over time.
In addition, the report called for visualization to be done in some cases that are not subject to the lay judge system.
Such cases include, for example, ones in which suspects are mentally handicapped and have difficulty communicating with investigators, resulting in a tendency of the suspects to say what they think the investigators want to hear.
Concerning questioning by prosecutors, visualization has been done in cases prosecutors began directly investigating in April last year, whether or not the cases are subject to the lay judge system.
By the end of last year, visualizations were made at all steps of about 40 percent of such cases.
In a case related to the political funds management body Rikuzan-kai, in which former Democratic Party of Japan President Ichiro Ozawa, 69, has been accused of violating the Political Funds Control Law, an audio recording of questioning of his former secretary was replayed in a trial session.
The former secretary underwent voluntary questioning by the special investigation squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office and secretly recorded the conversation.
The Tokyo District Court judged from the recording that prosecutors pressured or tried to guide the former secretary toward making statements favorable to their case. And the judges decided not to accept many of the former secretary's statements as evidence.
The incident indicated that visualization can also be effective for ensuring investigations are conducted properly.
The NPA panel was established in February 2010 with lawyers and former investigators as members so that effective visualization could be implemented without obstructing the protection of public safety.
Link: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T120223007083.htm
An expert panel of the National Police Agency proposed in its final report released Thursday that recording of the results of questioning in investigations--a practice called "visualization"--should be implemented in a wider range of cases.
Currently, parts of the investigation process in cases subject to lay judge trials in which defendants have admitted guilt are subject to visualization by audio or video recording, but the panel said this was not sufficient.
The report proposes implementing audio or video recording on a test basis in a wider range of cases in which defendants insist they are not guilty.
Based on the report, the NPA plans to instruct all prefectural police headquarters to test-implement visualization in a wider range of cases starting in April.
The recording of investigative questioning by police started in September 2008.
The measure was taken in cases chosen by police from among serious cases subject to the lay judge system, such as murder, robbery resulting in homicide and dangerous driving resulting in death, in which it might be questioned whether defendants' statements were truly voluntary.
By the end of last year, such visualization had been implemented in a total of 1,587 cases.
Defendants who insisted they were not guilty were excluded from the measure on the grounds that it is not necessary to prove their statements were voluntary.
From now on, visualization will be implemented even in cases of defendants insisting they are not guilty to prove questioning was properly conducted and avoid wrongful convictions.
The scenes that are currently recorded are those of police officers reading an account of what the defendant has already said in earlier questioning and then asking the defendant to confirm it.
Such scenes, about 15 minutes long, are recorded on DVD. (my bolding...)
The panel says that from now on visualization should also be implemented to record suspects' statements just after their arrest and to record changes in the content of suspects' statements over time.
In addition, the report called for visualization to be done in some cases that are not subject to the lay judge system.
Such cases include, for example, ones in which suspects are mentally handicapped and have difficulty communicating with investigators, resulting in a tendency of the suspects to say what they think the investigators want to hear.
Concerning questioning by prosecutors, visualization has been done in cases prosecutors began directly investigating in April last year, whether or not the cases are subject to the lay judge system.
By the end of last year, visualizations were made at all steps of about 40 percent of such cases.
In a case related to the political funds management body Rikuzan-kai, in which former Democratic Party of Japan President Ichiro Ozawa, 69, has been accused of violating the Political Funds Control Law, an audio recording of questioning of his former secretary was replayed in a trial session.
The former secretary underwent voluntary questioning by the special investigation squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office and secretly recorded the conversation.
The Tokyo District Court judged from the recording that prosecutors pressured or tried to guide the former secretary toward making statements favorable to their case. And the judges decided not to accept many of the former secretary's statements as evidence.
The incident indicated that visualization can also be effective for ensuring investigations are conducted properly.
The NPA panel was established in February 2010 with lawyers and former investigators as members so that effective visualization could be implemented without obstructing the protection of public safety.
Link: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T120223007083.htm
Saturday, August 13, 2011
"Impact of 'visualization' in criminal investigations"
Here's another update on the use of "visualization" in criminal investigations from today's Daily Yomiuri Online. Simply ridiculous...
The panel tasked with studying prosecution reform concluded that the visualization of interrogations through audio or video recording in all sorts of criminal investigations should be discussed.
As a result, a "subcommittee on the criminal justice system in a new era" was established in June under the Legislative Council to examine the state of the nation's criminal justice system.
The 26-member expert subcommittee is to discuss the range and types of cases subject to visualized interrogation, with the ultimate aim of preparing legislation on the visualization of interrogations of criminal cases.
The focal point of discussion is how to assess the impact of the visualization of interrogations on criminal investigations.
Police authorities and prosecutors are worried that in the investigation of cases involving organized crime, bribery or economic offenses, which may involve little concrete evidence, it will be more difficult to clarify what has actually happened.
For example, rank-and-file members of an organized crime group involved in a smuggling case, or secretaries of politicians and bribe-giving firms involved in a political corruption case, likely would not confess anything disadvantageous to their bosses in front of cameras.
Lawyer Masaru Wakasa, who once served as chief of the public security division at the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, said, "As those involved in criminal cases won't tell investigators [anything disadvantageous to their seniors] for fear of retaliation or harsh treatment, there will be an increase in such cases whereby the involvement of those in the upper echelons cannot be proved."
In the experimental visualization of interrogations, which the special investigation squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office started in April, a problem has arisen in that the prosecutors' interrogation of suspects became lax.
Makoto Miyazaki, a member of the subcommittee and a former president of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, downplayed this concern by saying, "In foreign countries where they adopted the visualization of interrogations, they are able to have suspects confess by improving their techniques of inquiry."
Police authorities and prosecutors have said that to supplement the interrogation functions that would be impaired by the visualization of interrogations, it would be necessary to adopt new methods, including plea bargaining or expanded use of wiretapping.
Hidehiko Sato, a member of the subcommittee and a former director general of the National Police Agency, said: "If criminal cases that cannot be prosecuted increase due to the visualization of interrogations, it would directly lead to deterioration of public security. It is therefore essential to adopt new investigation methods to punish suspects properly and to maintain law and order."
The subcommittee is expected to propose a new framework of criminal justice in two years' time. But it remains an open question whether the panel can reach a unified conclusion, because of wide differences in views among its members.
Link: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110812004226.htm
The panel tasked with studying prosecution reform concluded that the visualization of interrogations through audio or video recording in all sorts of criminal investigations should be discussed.
As a result, a "subcommittee on the criminal justice system in a new era" was established in June under the Legislative Council to examine the state of the nation's criminal justice system.
The 26-member expert subcommittee is to discuss the range and types of cases subject to visualized interrogation, with the ultimate aim of preparing legislation on the visualization of interrogations of criminal cases.
The focal point of discussion is how to assess the impact of the visualization of interrogations on criminal investigations.
Police authorities and prosecutors are worried that in the investigation of cases involving organized crime, bribery or economic offenses, which may involve little concrete evidence, it will be more difficult to clarify what has actually happened.
For example, rank-and-file members of an organized crime group involved in a smuggling case, or secretaries of politicians and bribe-giving firms involved in a political corruption case, likely would not confess anything disadvantageous to their bosses in front of cameras.
Lawyer Masaru Wakasa, who once served as chief of the public security division at the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, said, "As those involved in criminal cases won't tell investigators [anything disadvantageous to their seniors] for fear of retaliation or harsh treatment, there will be an increase in such cases whereby the involvement of those in the upper echelons cannot be proved."
In the experimental visualization of interrogations, which the special investigation squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office started in April, a problem has arisen in that the prosecutors' interrogation of suspects became lax.
Makoto Miyazaki, a member of the subcommittee and a former president of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, downplayed this concern by saying, "In foreign countries where they adopted the visualization of interrogations, they are able to have suspects confess by improving their techniques of inquiry."
Police authorities and prosecutors have said that to supplement the interrogation functions that would be impaired by the visualization of interrogations, it would be necessary to adopt new methods, including plea bargaining or expanded use of wiretapping.
Hidehiko Sato, a member of the subcommittee and a former director general of the National Police Agency, said: "If criminal cases that cannot be prosecuted increase due to the visualization of interrogations, it would directly lead to deterioration of public security. It is therefore essential to adopt new investigation methods to punish suspects properly and to maintain law and order."
The subcommittee is expected to propose a new framework of criminal justice in two years' time. But it remains an open question whether the panel can reach a unified conclusion, because of wide differences in views among its members.
Link: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110812004226.htm
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
"More interrogations 'visualized' / Justice minister wants procedure used in all lay judge cases"
Here's an update about the recording of interrogations by the police in Japan from today's Daily Yomiuri Online. Note the interesting definition of "visualization" employed by the Justice Ministry...
The Justice Ministry has announced its policy that the "visualization" of interrogations in criminal investigations through audio or video recording is essential, and should be institutionalized under the responsibility of the ministry.
In addition to the ministry's announcement Monday, Justice Minister Satsuki Eda instructed the prosecutor general to expand the range of cases subject to the practice.
At present, visualized interrogations are only partly used, and only in cases subject to lay judge trials in which the accused admits the facts presented in the indictment.
In most cases, the term "visualization" does not refer to a recording of the interrogation itself. Instead, prosecutors write interrogation reports and then are recorded reading them aloud for 15 to 30 minutes on a DVD.
Eda instructed Prosecutor General Haruo Kasama to expand the use of visualization to cases subject to lay judge trials in which the accused denies the charges, creating such recordings for all cases subject to lay judge trials on an experimental basis.
It is very rare for a justice minister to give direct instructions to a prosecutor general, even though the Public Prosecutors Office Law gives the justice minister authority over the prosecutor general.
The ministry set up an internal study group to discuss institutionalizing visualization in October 2009 under then Justice Minister Keiko Chiba. The group has studied interrogation systems in other countries and the current situation in Japan.
The ministry's announcement Monday, a document titled "Toward Realizing Visualization of Interrogations," is considered its official conclusion on the issue, based on the study group's final report also released Monday.
In the document, the Justice Ministry mentioned that a special committee of the ministry's Legislative Council, an advisory panel to justice minister, had also started discussions about making visualization a standard practice.
It also said, "Considering the importance of the aim of visualization, the Justice Ministry expects to receive a report from the Legislative Council as soon as possible and will carry out visualization as an institution."
Interrogations in the early stages of investigations soon after arrests and the process of compiling interrogation reports will also be subject to visualization under Eda's new instructions.
The ministry is going to expand the scope of visualization even to cases in which the accused denied charges because it intends to carry out appropriate interrogations and avoid wrongful convictions. It also aims to support prosecutors' efforts to prove the voluntariness of confessions.
Expanding the scope of visualization will be started within a month. The ministry plans to compile a report after a year, reviewing results of visualization efforts.
According to the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office, visualization efforts had been conducted for 3,572 cases subject to lay judge trials by May. Of them, in 39 hearings of lay judge trials, visualization DVDs were discussed. In each of those cases, the judges concluded that the accused had admitted the charges on a voluntary basis.
The final report of the study group expressed a negative view toward institutionalizing the recording of interrogation procedures in their entirety, saying, "It is not appropriate to establish a system which imposes videotaping and tape-recoding without exception."
Link to story: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110809006050.htm
The Justice Ministry has announced its policy that the "visualization" of interrogations in criminal investigations through audio or video recording is essential, and should be institutionalized under the responsibility of the ministry.
In addition to the ministry's announcement Monday, Justice Minister Satsuki Eda instructed the prosecutor general to expand the range of cases subject to the practice.
At present, visualized interrogations are only partly used, and only in cases subject to lay judge trials in which the accused admits the facts presented in the indictment.
In most cases, the term "visualization" does not refer to a recording of the interrogation itself. Instead, prosecutors write interrogation reports and then are recorded reading them aloud for 15 to 30 minutes on a DVD.
Eda instructed Prosecutor General Haruo Kasama to expand the use of visualization to cases subject to lay judge trials in which the accused denies the charges, creating such recordings for all cases subject to lay judge trials on an experimental basis.
It is very rare for a justice minister to give direct instructions to a prosecutor general, even though the Public Prosecutors Office Law gives the justice minister authority over the prosecutor general.
The ministry set up an internal study group to discuss institutionalizing visualization in October 2009 under then Justice Minister Keiko Chiba. The group has studied interrogation systems in other countries and the current situation in Japan.
The ministry's announcement Monday, a document titled "Toward Realizing Visualization of Interrogations," is considered its official conclusion on the issue, based on the study group's final report also released Monday.
In the document, the Justice Ministry mentioned that a special committee of the ministry's Legislative Council, an advisory panel to justice minister, had also started discussions about making visualization a standard practice.
It also said, "Considering the importance of the aim of visualization, the Justice Ministry expects to receive a report from the Legislative Council as soon as possible and will carry out visualization as an institution."
Interrogations in the early stages of investigations soon after arrests and the process of compiling interrogation reports will also be subject to visualization under Eda's new instructions.
The ministry is going to expand the scope of visualization even to cases in which the accused denied charges because it intends to carry out appropriate interrogations and avoid wrongful convictions. It also aims to support prosecutors' efforts to prove the voluntariness of confessions.
Expanding the scope of visualization will be started within a month. The ministry plans to compile a report after a year, reviewing results of visualization efforts.
According to the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office, visualization efforts had been conducted for 3,572 cases subject to lay judge trials by May. Of them, in 39 hearings of lay judge trials, visualization DVDs were discussed. In each of those cases, the judges concluded that the accused had admitted the charges on a voluntary basis.
The final report of the study group expressed a negative view toward institutionalizing the recording of interrogation procedures in their entirety, saying, "It is not appropriate to establish a system which imposes videotaping and tape-recoding without exception."
Link to story: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110809006050.htm
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