Table of Contents
Introduction
The Japanese criminal justice system is made up of five interrelated groups which are the same to other nations, and they include the police, prosecution, courts, correctional facilities, and follow-up programs. The criminal justice of Japan has experienced numerous reforms since the conclusion of World War II. The current penal code has been in use since 1907 when it was enacted, and the flexibility of the system allows numerous revisions to suit other demanding issues. Under the Japanese constitution, police are helped by democratic rule in protecting the rights and freedom of people as well as maintain peace and public order. In comparison to other democratic states, the institution and duties of police are modeled by the democratic rule and supremacy of the law of Japan.
Summary of Japanese Criminal Justice system
Numerous Amendments on Japanese criminal justice system happened after the end of World War II. For instance, the central government monitored the activities of Japan police, but the current constitution allows police duties to be administered by prefectural governments. Besides, Japanese courts are an independent institution from the central government, and on the hand, the office of the public prosecution is within the Ministry of Justice. In addition, the courts of Japan are made up of ranks such as the Supreme Court, high courts, district courts, family and summary courts (Dammer & Albanese, 2014).
The Police law governs the police institution, its organization, and duties under the rule of law and freedom. Statistics given by the national police agency of Japan estimated the ratio of police officers to the general population to be 1:555 which represents a compact police force when compared to a majority of western countries (Terrill, 2015). On the other hand, public prosecutors in Japan have the capabilities of taking part in criminal progress at any level within the boundaries criminal justice as they influence the form of prosecution as well as forms of criminal punishments and sentences.
The criminal justice of Japan accords public prosecutors with powers of allowing or suspending any prosecutions. In restricting prosecution, the public prosecutor must ensure all legal evidence are sufficient enough to build culpability to the accuser (Terrill, 2015). Moreover, the criminal justice system of Japan allows public prosecutors to conduct investigations without the assistance of police as well as other agencies of law enforcement. For example, the public prosecutors of Tokyo and Osaka are responsible for uncovering and prosecuting corporate crimes, tax avoidance and illegal financial practices done by government officials.
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The aftermath of World War II led to the establishment of principles in accordance with the Anglo-American legal system. Under these principles, the public can attend trials while the defense counsel and the prosecutor can submit their cases in oral form. Besides, summary courts are responsible for handling minor issues rendering them informal as there is no public hearing. Furthermore, in the conclusion of a formal trial, the court passes judgment, and both parties are allowed to appeal to the high court. On the other hand, the Supreme Court handles all constitutional appeals and in the Japanese system, the process of the appeal involves the accused, the public prosecutor and any other party included in the judgment (Dammer & Albanese, 2014).
Elements to be adopted by the United States
According to statistics Juvenile law in Japan has decreased cases of grave crimes committed by teens. In Japan, juveniles fall under the age of twenty, and all their cases are determined by family courts. However, serious crimes committed by juveniles are handled bypublic prosecutors in district courts. In 2000, juvenile law underwent various reforms, and in the following year, the age of juveniles was lowered to fourteen years and below (Pradel Jean, 2010). Besides, the law allowed specific cases to be investigated by a public prosecutor. For instance, offenders below the age of eighteen could face life imprisonment. Under Article 40 of Japanese Penal Code, offenders under the age of fourteen are considered as non-age, and their activities are not a crime (Dammer & Albanese, 2014).
Besides, young offenders under the age of fourteen who showed the tendency of repeating a crime, the family court recommends them to reformatory facilities. The criminal justice system of Japan forbids mistreatment of young offenders as the method does not influence crime prevention ways. In Japan, citizens participate in the whole process of trial as allowed by the saiban in systems. However, there are instances in which a person is excluded in taking part in the trial process. For example, older people with seventy years and above, individuals connected to the case as well as people with injuries and illness.
Conclusion
The criminal justice of Japan has experienced numerous reforms since the end of World War II. Besides, the countless adjustments on the criminal justice is an indication of Japanese interests in justice systems. All these reforms have influenced effective protection of offenders and at the same time working within the laws of the nation. The current procedure for criminal justice is based on the new constitution developed after the post-war. Under this constitution, Japan has incorporated the European style while at the same maintaining the adoption of the Anglo-American law. There are some elements of Japanese justice system that can be adopted by the United States criminal justice system such as reforms on juvenile laws and allowing citizen participation in trail processes.
References
- Dammer, H. R., & Albanese, J. S. (2014). Comparative criminal justice systems. Belmont (CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
- Pradel Jean. (2010). Minoru Shikita el Shinichi Tsuchiya. —Crime and Criminal Policy in Japan. Analyses and Evaluation of the Showa Era (1926-1988)—. (Revue internationale de droit compare.) PERSEE.
- Terrill, R. J. (2015). World criminal justice systems: A comparative survey. Place of publication not identified: Routledge.
