LETTER FROM TOKYO
The acquittal on September 26 by the Shizuoka court of Iwao Hakamada, who spent almost 46 years on death row, cast a harsh light on the shortcomings and dysfunctions of Japan’s criminal justice system. This miscarriage of justice, on a scale unrivaled for its duration, is, in fact, just the tip of an iceberg: The often abusive treatment of suspects in police custody.
Many suspects of crimes less serious than the murder of four people – of which Iwao Hakamada was accused – are treated by police and prosecutors in the same way as he was during his time in police custody. Hakamada was interrogated for 264 hours over a period of 23 days until he finally broke down and “confessed” to the murders he did not commit. At his first trial, his retractions or the violence he claimed to have been subjected to were not taken into account. “Confessions,” even if forced, are considered evidence.
According to an investigation by the Jiji news agency, three-quarters of those charged with murder and acquitted on appeal confessed under duress during interrogation. This was the case for four of those sentenced to death. According to Toshikuni Murai, a law expert specializing in criminal law at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, quoted by Jiji, “the trial courts judge on the basis of confessions” obtained during interrogation.
‘Torn lives apart, shattered families’
In a report, “The Hostage Justice System in Japan,” published in May 2023, the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) highlights shortcomings in the treatment of suspects held in police custody: Deprived of the presumption of innocence, the right to silence and the presence of a lawyer, they are relentlessly subjected to interrogation. Under constant surveillance, suspects are often denied all contact with family members or employers.
Police custody in Japan is supposed to be limited to 23 days (compared to 24 hours in France, possibly extended to a maximum of 144 hours). Often citing other minor offenses, investigators usually obtain an extension of police custody from the public prosecutor. “The Japanese government should urgently undertake wide-ranging reforms, including amending the criminal procedure code, to ensure detainees their fair trial rights and make investigators and prosecutors more accountable,” Human Rights Watch argues in its report. According to HRW Japan director Kanae Doi, “these abusive practices have torn lives apart, shattered families and led to wrongful convictions.” They can have dramatic consequences when they lead to life imprisonment or the death penalty.
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