Arrest and Pre-trial Detention in Japan

• NCJ Number: 78040
• Author(s): K Jinde
• Date Published: Unknown
• Length: 9 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: Japan

Annotation

Japan's arrest and pretrial procedures are described, and some associated problems are identified.

Abstract

Japan's constitution provides that (1) no person shall be arrested except upon warrant issued by a judicial officer, unless apprehension occurs while the offense is being committed. Further, no person shall be arrested or detained without being immediately informed of the charges and the immediate privilege of counsel. There can be no detention without adequate cause; upon demand by any person being detained, such cause must be immediately shown in open court in the presence of the arrestee and his/her counsel. If the police believe it necessary to detain a suspect, he/she must be taken to a public prosecutor within 48 hours. If the public prosecutor views the evidence to be sufficient for detention, a judge must be requested to issue a warrant of detention within 24 hours. A judge may issue a warrant of detention when there is reasonable ground to suppose the suspect has committed the crime and there is necessity fixed by law to detain him/her. The detention period is 10 days; however a judge may extend the period on request of a public prosecutor. The extension period can be no longer than 10 days. The accused under detention may request release on bail. Bail must be set except in cases of serious offenses, habitual criminality, or reasonable ground for believing the suspect may destroy evidence in the case. Some problems concerning arrest and pretrial detention are (1) the arrest of a person based upon evidence of one crime while investigating the suspect for another crime, (2) the detention of suspects in police jails where they are continually accessible to police for intimidation in making statements without the benefit of counsel, and (3) some public dissatisfaction with bail, since it is viewed as a mechanism for buying one's way out of jail. Tabular data provide statistics on arrest, pretrial detention, and bail for the years 1975 through 1978.