Criminal Justice System

I will be discussing Japan’s criminal justice system. I will be addressing the law enforcement, courts, and correction workings of their criminal justice system. I chose Japan because I believed that it would be interesting to learn more about how their criminal justice system works. It is important to look at other countries criminal justice systems so that we can compare them to our own to see if we need to make improvements or if we can help to improve others. Japan 's legal system is based on civil law. They were influenced by Prussia and France legal system models. After World War II, the United States introduced judicial review to Japan through the Allied Occupation. Japan 's legal system is more closely related to that of other European …show more content…
The five types of courts in Japan is the Supreme Court, High Court, District Court, Family Court, and Summary Court. The summary courts handle all of the civil litigation cases. Family courts handle all cases relating to personal status and family affairs. The District courts are usually the first instance for cases of criminal or administrative affairs. One judge sits in for district court cases except for those of serious criminal affairs to where up to 3 judges will be present. The High courts handle all of the appeals from the lower courts. The Supreme courts are the last courts to see appeals and they make the final decisions on cases. The grand bench is composed of the chief justice and 14 justices. They’re 3 petty benches each composed of 5 justices. The cases are first given to the petty benches and then are moved up to the chief justice and 14 justices if the case involves the …show more content…
The inmate on death row enters a room and stands in the center of it with the noose tied around their neck. A button is then pressed that drops the floor out from underneath them and the inmate disappears below the floor where their neck is snapped by the noose. Some of the guards don’t want to be the one to press the button but they are legally obligated to do so. To combat this multiple guards each press a button and only one of them is the real button that drops the floor. Capital punishment is only used about twice a year in Japan. It is usually only used in the cases of multiple murders. Those that are under the age of 18 cannot be hanged as a result of their crimes. The entire process is a secret one. In most cases, the family of the inmate is only contacted after that have already been hanged. The only ones allowed to be present are the guards and the prosecutor. Japan has a 99% conviction rate. It is seen in Japan that those arrested are guilty until proven innocent because they only arrest those who they are sure commited a crime. They are allowed to hold anyone for 23 days without ever charging them with a crime. Japan uses a really intensive interrogation process to get the information that they want whether for good or bad. Foreigners that are arrested in Japan are not able to receive much aid from their embassy and home