The (Japanese) administration of justice and the will to truth

Japanese Atmospheres of Criminal Justice

“…Criminological interest in Japan has tended towards discussions of a range of discrete issues. First, scholars have engaged with Japanese social and cultural contexts thought to have influenced the contours of its criminal justice practices (Herber 2003, Komiya 1999). Interest has also been shown in Japan's comparatively low crime rate 1 and some of the specific and distinctive institutions or processes within Japanese criminal justice processes have received Western critical attention, especially with respect to its version of community policing, retention of the death penalty, and the introduction in 2009 of a 'lay judge system', called the saiban-in seido, which echoes, but does not correspond to, the Western jury system in criminal cases.…”

Victim Participation in Japan: When Therapeutic Jurisprudence Meets Prosecutor Justice

“…The findings presented here are furthermore in line with earlier findings showing that failure to act in accordance with behaviour expected from confessing defendants can in fact add to defendants’ criminal responsibility (cf. Herber (2003)). Furthermore, while a remorseful attitude may, as indicated earlier, contribute to a lower sentence, it may thus also hinder the defendant, as any statement in his or her own defence may be construed as evidence of a less-than-truly-remorseful attitude and lack of rehabilitative potential (personal communication with public prosecutors, 2012–15 ( n =10); Kawaai (2011), p. 195 and references provided there.…”