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Forum - View topicNEWS: Japanese Courts Use Manga To Promote New Judicial System
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GATSU
Posts: 15606 |
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In America, it's called jury duty. 
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camelot187757
 Posts: 426 Location: The Nacirema Dream (17 and counting Asuka) |
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The japanese need sublimnal advertising to get people to go to jury duty? Man thats just...sad.
And yet its funny. Must be something with those japanese governments.
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Joe Mello
 Posts: 2316 Location: Online Terminal |
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Maybe the Japanese need to play more Phoenix Wright...
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Beatdigga
 Posts: 4632 Location: New York |
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Jury duty is a new thing to them. Give it five years and people will be skipping it just like home.
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Fronzel
Posts: 1906 |
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Is that what it means? They didn't have juries before? Not that I know anything at all about the Japanese legal system (except that it involves lots of histrionic pointing and OBJECTING!), but that just strikes me as something the post-war constitution would have in it.
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ACDragonMaster
 Posts: 405 |
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Just what do these "lay judges" do? I mean, *is* it basically like jury duty, or are they giving them a power similar to a judge's.
In the latter case, I would be extremely worried if such a thing were inacted here- a lot of people think they know how the law works, but it really does take someone who's spent the time studying it to properly handle these things... |
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Fui
 Posts: 339 |
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The Japanese court/judicial system is so backwards that this isn't surprising at all. My parents are both business/social lawyers here but pay close attention to JP rulings and they always mention how messed up it is. Also, there are much fewer attorneys in Japan and the quality isn't very good there. They're starting to incorporate a more US-type system and trying to increase the population and quality of attorneys there. I think a big problem is there's no professional schools (for anything, really).
Here's a few examples of weird rulings: A two kids were playing catch with a baseball in a park. One time the ball was unable to be caught and it hit a man who was standing nearby. The court ruled that the kids had to pay a rather large sum of money to the guy who got hit. This is with the courts acknowledging it was an accident (no assault/battery). Ok...it's in a park and it's two kids playing catch. Plus he's an idiot for standing next to kids throwing a baseball around. This encourages kids to not play outdoors or practice sports. It's bad public policy. Another one: Some lady had a boyfriend (or husband, I forgot) who was cheating on her. She figured out who the lady was and stabbed her several times with a knife, killing her. The courts hardly gave her a sentence and concluded it wasn't first degree murder. This like encourages muder/crimes. I think the situation will change soon and they'll become more westernized (and in this instance, better) in their legal system. There's hardly any protection of citizens right now, especially in instances like fraud where citizens have nowhere to turn to for help when they get cheated. |
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Abarenbo Shogun
 Posts: 1573 |
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OBJECTION!! Sorry, had to say it.
But still, isn't this the same system that treats victims of major crimes and rapes with as much disdain as we here in the US with Pedophiles and Mass-Muderers. |
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MorwenLaicoriel
 Posts: 1617 Location: Colorado |
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I hope this fixes the system up a bit. As much as I love the Japanese, and I love Phoenix Wright, their current system REALLY doesn't work well.
For example, there's this guy my Mom knows who's been living in Japan for a while with his family. He was driving with his daughter one day, and they get into the accident. Both the man and his daughter say it was a green light, the other driver insists they ran a red light. The other driver had minor whiplash and had to go to physical therapy for 2 weeks. That's it, only two weeks. The Japanese court system, trying to cut down on accidents appearantly, charge the guy with a crime. Both he and his daughter insist the light was green, and there wasn't really a whole lot of evidence for or against, so it's sort of a he-said-she-said thing. The vertict? The man is now charged with a 'crime'. He COULD'VE gone to jail for 3 years, but he was 'lucky' and is only on some sort of parolel. But, they said that if he does 'any more criminal activity' in the next year, he'll go to jail. Accident. Criminal activity. It's possible they used him as an example, possibly because he was a foreigner. And there wasn't a jury, of course, just a judge. So, yeah, needs some fixing. |
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TNaran
Posts: 17 Location: Canada |
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There used to be but the law allowing it was suspended during WWII and never-reintroduced. All cases are head by a panel of at least 3 judges. More serious crimes have more judges. Japan Today had a good summary of the change a few months ago. The basic idea is that cases that aren't super high profile (e.g., politicians, yakuza) will get a jury trial. But there's some reluctance because apparently Japanese don't really trust the judgement of their fellow citizens. Useful links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jury_in_Japan Really good pamphlet on it (in English) from the Ministry of Justice: http://www.moj.go.jp/SAIBANIN/pdf/pamphlet-e.pdf Summary of bitching from a retired Japanese judge of why he thinks it's a bad idea: http://www.crisscross.com/jp/kuchikomi/p12 |
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Lothar
 Posts: 67 |
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Yeah, apparently there's some large stigma in Japan associated with being in a car accident. I've never been able to pin down why, but apparently people have suffered in their *careers*, even salarymen, because of car accidents they've been involved in. Someone more knowlegable about this want to explain why? Compared to international standards, yes, the Japanese judicial system is, well, fux0red. Here's a short pro-and-con list of what I know of it: Pros: 1) The goal is reintegration into the community, not "making the bastard suffer", so sentences tend to be more reasonable than in the U.S. system. 2) Rarely do charges make it to a courtroom, but instead are worked out outside the system. This saves time and unnecessary litigation. Cons: 1) There is too much reliance on the "fact-finding" process lead by prosecutors, and defense attorneys do not have as great a chance to review evidence that might be thrown out as in the U.S. sytem. 2) Judges tend to be *very* isolated from the general public. They are trained as judges rather than initially serving as lawyers and then being appointed to the bench. 3) If a case goes to trial, Japan's infamous 99.97% conviction rate kicks in. There is enormous "pressure" (read: sometimes torture) to exact a confession from the unwilling defendant. Prosecutors lose a lot of face if they lose a case. 4) Prisoners, even those yet to be convicted are kept in inhumane prison conditions, having to sit "Buddha-style" for many hours on end in a cramped cell, and only getting about two 20-minute breaks to exercise. Since gaijin aren't really considered part of the "community" to be reintegrated into, then much of the rationale of the judicial system is thrown out solidly out of their favor. It is because of the judicial system that I have serious reservations about visiting Japan myself. Once I, as a caucasian am accused of something, it's basically all over for me. May as well fit me for shackles, make my life hell, and deport my ass. Let's hope a new jury system will make a dent. |
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dormcat
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 9902 Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC |
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Click here for lots of laugh.
I wonder how many here have ever heard of Gyakuten Saiban. |
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