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| In this photo taken on March 12, 2009, three jurors enter the court with judges, top row left and second row left, at the start of a moot court at Saitama district court in Saitama, north of Tokyo, Japan, in preparation for the start of jury system in Japan in August. Japan opened its first jury trial in post-World War II history Monday, Aug. 3, 2009, under a major overhaul of a legal system that has in the past often been criticized as unfair and arduous. | ||
Six jurors are working with three judges to hand down a verdict for 72-year-old Katsuyoshi Fujii, who has been charged with murder in the fatal stabbing of a 66-year-old neighbor in May.
Japanese trials — which up to now have been decided by panels of judges — have long been criticized as lacking in transparency and taking years to reach a verdict.
Police interrogate suspects in closed rooms without an attorney present, a practice that critics say leads to coerced confessions that have convicted the innocent. Criminal trials have a 99 percent conviction rate.
In the past, defendants' pleas that their confessions were coerced have fallen on deaf ears. Proponents of the jury system hope that jurors will be more likely to consider such claims and that a ordinary citizen on the jury might in general be more sympathetic than judges have been in the past.
"With the change, trials will become more democratic," Justice Minister Eisuke Sato said. "We hope to achieve a justice system that is speedier, more accessible and reliable."
Japan launched a jury trial system in 1928, but dropped it in 1943 as the country headed into chaos with World War II. The system was never popular because legal professionals opposed allowing regular people as jurors, and defendants had to pay legal fees.
Much remains uncertain for the first postwar jury trial, opening in Tokyo District Court.
Expectations are high for emotional drama and engaging arguments long associated with American courtrooms.
One change is certain. The verdict and sentencing are scheduled to come in just four days, to allow jurors to return to their regular lives.
Fujii's lawyers say he is pleading guilty but that they are asking for leniency in sentencing because he has expressed remorse.
Murder carries a maximum penalty of death in Japan, although it's unlikely in a case involving one victim.
The son of the victim is expected to take the stand to plead with the jurors, according to the court. His mother was stabbed to death, allegedly after a quarrel, the court said.
"This is a historic trial, and I feel I must do my best to be up to the job," prosecutor Tetsuo Maeda told reporters on NKH TV news, as he headed into the courtroom, where jury selection started in the morning.
Japan is set to hear about 2,000 to 3,000 jury trials per year, all involving serious crimes such as murder and kidnapping. About 300,000 candidates are being randomly selected from eligible voters nationwide annually to serve jury duty each year.
Since 2004, when the nation decided on the new jury system, legal experts have held seminars to make trials easier to understand and have held about 300 mock trials.
Some people are still reluctant to serve on a jury.
"It is such a heavy responsibility to cast judgment on other people," said Tomoe Obata, a 49-year-old office worker, who attended a mock trial earlier this year. "What if I'm assigned to a murder case and we are asked to consider the death penalty?"
With the arrival of a jury trial, Japanese will have a chance to play a bigger role in doling out justice, Bar Association President Makoto Miyazaki said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.
"A more transparent and fair criminal justice system serves everyone's interests," he said.
(AP)