By most measurements, Japan is a very safe society. The rates for crime and incarceration are low, compared to other rich countries. However, court conviction rates are extremely high, 99% according to this video from The Economist.
In Japan, 48 per 100,000 citizens are in prison, a staggering amount when compared to that of Britain and America.
Conviction ‘guaranteed’
It is quite often said that Japanese criminal courts never acquit anyone, when a person is accused of a crime, they are almost always convicted.
However, the puzzle is what to make of this.
Perhaps Japanese judges convict because Japanese prosecutors bring only true criminals into the courtrooms?
Or perhaps Japanese judges convict because they further their careers by convicting?
It could also have something to do with the interrogation process in which those accused are put under – an interrogation for them to sign a confession of guilt. Where those in question can be interrogated for up to 23 days, with limited access to a defence lawyer.
Guilt confessions underpin 89% of all criminal prosecutions in the country…
In the courts
Japan court does not have a jury, instead a panel of judges who decide the fate of those accused of crime. 98% of appeals in serious cases fail because they are either dismissed, the requests of retrial are retracted, or the accused pass away.
Japanese prosecutors might do very well at keeping innocent defendants out of the court system, but this could be to do with budget constraints. Perhaps rational prosecutors prosecute only the most obviously and gruesomely guilty, due to lack of funds or time.
With Japanese prisons being draconian, the life of a convict is not one to envy, so perhaps scaremongering its people could be Japan’s answer to reduce crime.
There are many reasons to suggest why Japan’s conviction rate is so high, yet not a solid answer yet, however interesting it might be.
Photos by: Victor, Moyan Brenn.