最悪の国 日本

Comment by George
2008-12-18 12:33:10

I just finished taking a course in law school about how Japan’s legal system works. Basically, they can detain you without formally arresting you for an indefinite time, though they don’t have a legal right to do so.

After formally arresting you, there is a total of 23 days that a prosecutor can wear you down with questioning mostly without limits (this includes an initial period plus two 10 day extensions which are routinely granted) to build a case and decide whether or not to formally charge you and prosecute the case.

If you are able to be arrested for multiple crimes, each crime has its own 23 day period that can be tacked on (this includes lesser included crimes, so you can “go up the ladder” of offenses to lengthen the detainment), meaning you can be held for a hundred or more days with no rights and with nearly round-the-clock interrogation.

You have no constitutional right to a lawyer before the end of this period. You can hire one yourself, but few know that they can do so and most submit to questioning without any attorney. Even with a hired lawyer, the police can block efforts to let you meet with them or have them present for questioning with little effort.

For these reasons, confession rates are astronomical, and results in the very high “solved cases” rate Japan boasts of. However, there’s a good chance a lot of innocent people are forced to confess. This likelihood is compounded by the fact that few people actually serve jail time if they confess, but if they don’t confess, about 99.9% are found guilty and punished more severely (they can be found guilty on appeal even if they are found innocent at trial). Not much of a “prisoner’s dilemma” there.

The guy in this story sounds guilty, and he should have just confessed, but it’s no joke that there are few procedural rights for suspects in Japan.

It’s especially true for a foreigner in Japan - My professor (who lived many years in Japan) also suggested that police boxes are basically gossip hubs, and the police there note foreigners in the neighborhood who ask for directions; they are often the first people to be questioned when a crime happens in that area.George

　しかし、なんだなあ、ときに疲れてくるなああ、こういうのばっかだと。

　一部欧米人によると、日本の警察も司法もメチャクチャで、外国人の犯罪でつかまったとしても警察や司法が駄目だから、それは嘘八百の暴力捜査に不正裁判。

　日本人は白人や外国人が大嫌いで、それでも日本にくるのは、犯されたがっている日本人女性とやりまくって、あるいは、日本人男性の横暴に堪え忍ぶ日本人女性を救いに来るーーー　こんなイメージなのかね。しかも、ジャーナリストを含むインテリまでも・・・・

　いや、疲れるよ、ときに・・・・これなら、一部馬鹿外人のように、日本人はアホだらだああとか、ネオナチのように、白人バンザイー有色人死ねとか、外国人は出て行けとか、あるいは嫌韓厨のように韓国人は阿呆とか、叫んで、複雑な状況を単純化してしまった方がよほど楽かな、とも思う。
　

　まあ、しかし、LBさんやら、他の親日的外国人さんがいるからもうちょっと頑張ってみよう・・・・。

　在日外国人のみなさん、お誘いあわせの上、どうぞ本ブログの討論にご参加下さい。

　日本語で討論や対話ができなくて、引きこもって自分たちの偏見でぶつぶつ言っていてもしようがないですよ。