Plea-Bargaining System Starts in Japan

June 1, 2018

Tokyo- Japan on Friday introduced a plea-bargaining system to reward criminal suspects or defendants who provide public prosecutors with information on the crimes of others.

It may lead to drastic changes in criminal investigations, trials and lawyers' activities, experts said.

While the system is expected to be helpful for law-enforcement authorities' investigations into organized crime, the possibility cannot be ruled out that false statements by suspects or defendants using the system will get people involved who have nothing to do with crime, they said.

In response to such concerns, the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office has set out a policy of operating the system very carefully, including by making sure that thorough investigations are carried out to determine whether statements made using the system are true or false.

The plea-bargaining system was introduced as part of reforms of Japan's criminal justice system, covering economic crimes, such as fraud, tax evasion and bid-rigging, and crimes related to drugs and guns.

Police officers can take part in plea-bargaining processes if prosecutors allow them.

Those making false statements or submitting fake evidence will face prison terms of up to five years.

Under the Japanese system, suspects or defendants would escape indictment or see prosecutors seek relatively light sentences from courts in trials in return for providing information about crimes committed by others.

The Japanese system is different from the U.S. plea-bargaining system, in which suspects or defendants are rewarded for confessing their own crimes.

Under the Japanese plea-bargaining system, prosecutors will hold negotiations with suspects or defendants in the presence of lawyers. Prosecutors have no obligations to disclose plea-bargaining deals even if they are done.

Japan also started on Friday a system allowing courts to compel witnesses to give testimony in trials on condition that they will not be punished even if their statements include content that could make them criminally responsible.

The government started full-fledged discussions on introducing the plea-bargaining system in the wake of a high-profile evidence-tampering scandal at the Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office that came to light in 2010.

The launch of the system was included in a package of criminal justice reform legislation enacted in 2016.

In March this year, the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office announced that plea-bargaining deals must be limited to cases for which public understanding can be obtained.

In late May, a workshop on the plea-bargaining system was held at a facility of the Supreme Court, bringing together 36 criminal judges from district and high courts across the nation.

Many participants said that the credibility of statements made under the system will need to be examined very carefully and that such statements must be backed by objective evidence, according to officials of the top court.

The Japan Federation of Bar Associations has held training programs on the system for lawyers across the country. Some participating lawyers indicated concerns about the possibility of innocent people being charged falsely on the basis of statements made under the system, officials said.

"We will manage and operate the plea-bargaining system carefully and appropriately," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press conference on Thursday.

"I've heard that prosecutors plan to take time to let the system take root in the country," Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa told a press conference on Friday. "I believe that prosecutors will examine any problems related to the system while operating it carefully," she also said. Jiji Press