title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: The assassination resulted in renewed public interest into the relationship between the Unification Church and the LDP. On 31 July 2022, Kishida demanded the members of his party to "carefully explain" their relationship with the church to the public. The alleged relationship caused the Kishida Cabinet's approval to drop, by 8% in July according to "Yomiuri Shimbun" or by 13% according to NHK. Both polls also showed that over 80% of respondents felt that the disclosure by the politicians of their relationship with the UC was insufficient. On 6 August, Kishida announced that he would reshuffle his cabinet on 10 August, much earlier than September 2022 as had been originally scheduled, and that all members of the next cabinet would be closely examined of their ties with the church. Taro Kono, the newly appointed Minister of Digital Affairs in this reshuffle, established a "Spiritual Sales Review Committee" in the Consumer Affairs Agency to hold weekly meeting with experts in cult-related frauds, including Masaki Kito of the anti-cult lawyers network Zenkoku Benren. In a 9 December 2022 consumer committee special meeting, Kono stated that he personally recognizes the Unification Church as a "cult".


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: On 24 October 2022, one of the retaining ministers in the reshuffled cabinet, Daishiro Yamagiwa, announced his resignation as the Minister of Economic Revitalization, after being criticised for his past engagements with the UC, announcing his ties with the UC only after the reshuffle to the public, and unsatisfactory responses regarding his participations in the UC-related events such as "I have no memory" or "I have no record" when being questioned by the media and opposition lawmakers.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: Almost a year before the assassination, in September 2021, the anti-cult lawyers group Zenkoku Benren sent an open protest letter to Shinzo Abe, after he had sent the video message to an online meeting of the Universal Peace Federation. In the letter, the lawyers protested that his video message constituted an "endorsement," stating: "We urge you to think carefully about this for the sake of your own honour."


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: On 11 July 2022, in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward lawyers of Zenkoku Benren held a press conference in response to the assassination. After offering their condolences to Abe, they objected to the UC's claims that it reformed its practices in 2009 after it came under police investigation. Hiroshi Yamaguchi, an advocacy group representative, said that the UC's "explanation that there is no coercion of donations is a lie." The amount of damages reported by victims in Japan has been higher in recent years, the lawyers said, totalling 5.1 billion yen in more than 400 cases between 2017 and 2020. They emphasized that the activities of the UC are inseparable from front groups, including the UPF, they are all part of a "religious conglomerate" working toward the goal of "unifying" the world under their church. The advocacy group released a statement urging politicians to refrain from any actions that express support for the religious group.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: The indicated that: "Neither administrative bodies or politicians in the administration did anything about the activities of the former Unification Church in the past 30 years".


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: The "National Family Association of Victims of the Unification Church" (), founded in 2003, received a surge of inquiries for helping their family members leave the UC. In June 2022, before the assassination, there were eight inquiries for the association; in July 2022, the number of inquiries jumped to 94; in August 2022, the number exceeded 100.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: Because there were previous instances of students lured into the UC via the workers of "CARP" (for Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles), a UC-front organization which was not acknowledged by the university, lingering around the campus, Osaka University erected warning signs in the campus to urge students to avoid cult-related groups like CARP. The signs listed the common behaviors of the workers of such group like asking for personal contact or taking survey. Since 2004, Osaka University provided lectures to all first-year students about the problems with religious cults and how to deal with them on campus. Many other schools, including Waseda University, Keio University and Ritsumeikan University, warned first-year students about on-campus recruitment activities. According to "World CARP Japan" (WCJ), the Japanese organization of CARP, there are about 30 CARP-circles active in universities across Japan, where they help clean up communities and teach primary school children.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: The assassination raised discussion of stripping the UC of its "legal entity of religious organization" status based on Article 81 "Dissolution Order" of the which was only issued twice in Japan prior to Abe's assassination, the first being the Aum Shinrikyo in 1996 following the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack; the second being Myōkakuji (明覚寺) in Wakayama in January 2002 whose top officials had been convicted for employing fraudulent spiritual sales tactics to attract massive donations from their believers. The rationales being that the UC was engaging in activities which were "clearly detrimental to the public welfare" and/or "out of line with the purpose of the religious organization." Professor of constitutional law said that stripping the religious status of an organization does not violate the religious freedom guaranteed by the Constitution of Japan, but it would merely strip them of benefits such as tax break enjoyed by registered religious entity. In October 2022, the leaders of the Aum Shinrikyo's succeeding unregistered religious groups, Aleph and Hikari no Wa, answered to media interviews that their religious activities have not been hindered by the government since the 1996 dissolution order.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: Since Abe's assassination, a daughter under the pseudonym "Sayuri Ogawa" (小川 さゆり) of the UC followers who suffered financially and mentally has become outspoken of her past experiences of being exploited by the church and her parents. On 14 September 2022, she was arranged by the Japan News Network to speak face to face with the Minister of Justice Yasuhiro Hanashi on air and demanded passing new laws to regulate the malpractices of the UC and protect children from religious parents. On 6 October 2022, she and her husband held a press conference to explain the church's exploitation which was interrupted by a message sent by her parents via the UC who accused her of lying pathologically due to her mental illness. By the end of the press conference, she demanded the dissolution of the UC in tears.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: On 11 October 2022, the anti-cult lawyers group Zenkoku Benren formally submitted a request for disbanding the UC to the , Minister of Justice and Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Initially the Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno responded that the request must be considered with utmost prudence with regards of the precedents. On 16 October 2022, Prime Minister Kishida announced a probe of the UC would be launched regarding the allegations of their anti-social activities, and suggested the possibility of dissolving the UC depending on the report of the investigation. On the next day, organizations of anti-cultism and cult victims initiated an online petition demanding government officials to strip the UC of its religious juridical person status.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: On December 10, the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors passed two bills to restrict the activities of religious organizations such as the UC and provide relief to victims. These bills were designed to address social problems caused by the Unification Church, and the political parties and the media saw these bills as a way to restrict "cults" in the process leading up to the legislation.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: The new law stipulates prohibited acts and duty of care for juridical persons, including religious organizations, when soliciting donations. Prohibited acts include the following: a juridical person must not induce the donor to borrow money or sell their home or fields in order to raise the funds for the donation, a juridical person must not accompany the donor to a place from which the donor is unable to leave, and a juridical person must not prevent the donor from consulting with someone. The duty of care is that the juridical person shall not suppress the free will of the soliciting subject and that the solicitation shall not make life difficult for the soliciting subject's family. If a juridical person commits a prohibited act, a correction order is issued, and a person who repeatedly violates the order is subject to imprisonment for up to one year and a fine of up to 1,000,000 yen. If a juridical person violates its duty of care, the name of the juridical person will be made public. It was also stipulated that contracts for donations or sales of goods through spiritual sales, i.e. inducing psychological fear or promising spiritual salvation, can be revoked up to 10 years after the contract is concluded and up to three years after the target of the solicitation becomes aware of the damage. In addition, it is also stipulated that donations contracted while the target of the solicitation is under brainwashing can be canceled. The law also stipulates that the victim's family can also revoke the donation due to improper solicitation, and that the victim or his/her family can claim from the juridical person the amount of past damages as well as living expenses and child support that the child or spouse is entitled to in the future. The new law then defines spiritual sales, in which a contract can be rescinded, as soliciting donations or selling goods after taking advantage of the anxiety of the target of the solicitation or causing the target of the solicitation to become anxious. Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety Taro Kono will have jurisdiction over these laws.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: These bills were supported by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, and opposition parties the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP), Nippon Ishin no Kai, and Democratic Party for the People, and opposed by the opposition parties the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) and the Reiwa Shinsengumi. The CDP had opposed the bills, seeking legislation to more strictly restrict religious organizations, but switched to support it after a clause to review the law two years later was specified in the bills. According to the CDP and some Unification Church victims, legislation to restrict religious organizations even more strictly is needed. The JCP had proposed another bill to restrict religious organizations and therefore opposed the bills. Sayuri Ogawa, who was invited to spectate the parliament when the bills were being passed, was grateful of the new laws to be made in such a tight schedule of the parliament, but she also stressed that there are still many challenges ahead [surrounding the UC and its victims] with the most pressing one being passing new bill protecting children from religious abuse; Lawyer Hiroshi Yamaguchi who represents Zenkoku Benren wished that there would have been more time to make a solid bill. He worried that under the new laws it would still be difficult to prove that the claimant's free will was being suppressed when accepting the transaction, also the definition of what allows the victim's child or spouse to demand restitution on behalf of their relative was too narrow to be practical.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: In the afternoon of 11 July, Abe's casket was transported to the Zōjō Temple in Shiba Park of the Minato ward of Tokyo, where several feudal shoguns are buried. A wake for Abe began at 6:00p.m. Over 2,500 people attended, according to the LDP.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: A Buddhist funeral for Abe took place at Zōjō Temple on the next day. The ceremony, conducted by priests from the Jōdō-shū tradition, was restricted to Abe's family and select others from the LDP. Following the funeral, Abe's casket was transported through the Nagatachō district with large crowds watching the procession from the sidewalks. The casket was driven past LDP headquarters, the National Diet Building and the Prime Minister's Office before being taken to Kirigaya Funeral Hall in the Shinagawa ward for a private funeral. During the funeral, Abe received a posthumous name that reflected his life on the political stage. A farewell ceremony has been planned for sometime after the funeral and the traditional 49-day mourning period. The location is planned to be within the Yamaguchi 4th district and within Tokyo.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: On 12 August 2022, the UPF held an international conference in Seoul which was attended by foreign dignitaries such as Mike Pompeo, Newt Gingrich, and Stephen Harper. None of the dignitaries from Japan attended. Part of the venue was dedicated to giving a memorial service for Abe. While not attending personally, Donald Trump and Mike Pence's video messages were also played during the event. The event stated that Abe died while participating in a movement for peace.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: On 14 July 2022, six days after the assassination, the Kishida Cabinet formally decided a state funeral of Abe to be held on 27 September at the Nippon Budokan. The cost of the entire ceremony would be paid by the national coffer, drawn from the "annual contingency fund" which was meant for emergency situations like natural disasters. On 26 August, the cabinet approved a budget of 249.4 million yen (about US$1.8 million in August 2022) which did not include the cost of security, but in an estimation announced by the cabinet on 6 September, the grand total of the actual cost with inclusion of security (800 million yen), hosting foreign dignitaries (600 million yen) and other miscellaneous cost (10 million yen) would be at least 1.66 billion yen. The cabinet made the decision without seeking consensus in the parliament, but attempted to convince the opposing lawmakers after they finalized the decision. Kishida insisted pushing forward the state funeral on the grounds of Abe being the longest serving prime minister of Japan, as well as his achievements on domestic affairs and foreign policies. On the other hand, Kishida reaffirmed that, similar to Yoshida's state funeral, the government would only plead with, but not mandate the public to mourn Abe during his state funeral.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: There was one precedent of a state funeral for a post-war Japanese leader, Shigeru Yoshida, held in 1967 which costed 18 million yen of tax money. Originally the "State Funeral Decree" (国葬令) was enacted in 1926 by the end of Taisho period. Articles three and five stipulated that the "prime minister shall conduct a state funeral for any one who made exceptional contribution to the country not of the imperial family under the Emperor's decree". After the Second World War, the new Constitution of Japan went into effect in 1947, and the State Funeral Decree was declared null and void. Although the state funeral for Yoshida decided by the then Prime Minister Eisaku Satō lacked any constitutional basis, by that time, only the Japanese Communist Party opposed the decision. Post-war funerals for the Emperor of Japan, while technically following the custom of a state funeral, have been known as the "" since 1947.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: Kishida's determination to hold Abe's state funeral was described by the media as a form of "" to convey his will to inherit Abe's legacy domestically and internationally. However, when compared to the state funeral of Elizabeth II held on 19 September, one week before Abe's state funeral, the media pointed out that the foreign dignitaries attending Abe's funeral were less influential, comprising mostly former heads of state, and none of the incumbent leaders of the G7 attended. Nippon TV cited an anonymous government official who explained that many leaders who attended Elizabeth II's funeral were unsure if it was appropriate to conduct two consecutive trips abroad in such a short period of time. All-Nippon News cited another official who commented that there were almost no notable foreign dignitaries who could attend, and that Kishida was wrong for being overly optimistic of his "funeral diplomacy" plan. Among those who received but eventually turned down invitations were Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Angela Merkel, and Emmanuel Macron. Justin Trudeau cancelled his schedule three days before the funeral as Hurricane Fiona, a category 4 tropical cyclone, was causing serious damage across Atlantic Canada.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: Representatives from 218 foreign countries, regions and international organizations attended the funeral, which included heads of state and government as well as ambassadors and cabinet members.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: On 20 September 2022, former Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan stated that he would not attend Abe's state funeral. Kan's predecessor, former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama also did not attend Abe's state funeral.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: A state funeral is a stark break from recent funerals for other post-war Japanese leaders, which have been jointly organized and paid for by the Cabinet and the LDP. The Cabinet's decision has been met with mixed reactions, as there is currently no legal founding that clarifies eligibility or how a state funeral should be conducted. An injunction requesting a suspension to the Cabinet's decision and budget for the event had been filed at the district courts in Tokyo, Saitama, Yokohama and Osaka by civil groups on 21 July, which states the lack of parliamentary approval and infringement of a constitutional right to freedom of belief. All these lawsuits were dismissed by all courts on 9 September. On 12 September, the (JCJ) issued an appeal letter in opposition to Abe's state funeral, citing unfavorable polling data of the state funeral across the news agencies. The letter condemned the 2015 Japanese military legislation (legalization of Japan's right to collective self-defense), one of Abe's controversial legacies during his tenure, which was described by JCJ as destroying the Constitution and peace diplomacy of Japan, but Kishida attempted to praise such legacy via a state funeral paid by taxpayers' money. Anti-cult journalist expressed his concern that Abe's state funeral could be used by the Unification Church to lure more victims into their organization because of Abe's overt endorsement of their leader Hak Ja Han. On 22 September, in a third press conference held by the Unification Church in response to the assassination and spiritual sales, they would announce their support for Abe's state funeral out of "tremendous respect" for Abe.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: Opponents of the state funeral organized public rallies. One on 22 July, about 400 people gathered before the Prime Minister's Office. A second one on 16 August had more than a thousand people marching peacefully on the street of Shinjuku in Tokyo. A third one on 31 August organized by the opposition parties saw more than 2500 people protesting before the National Diet Building. On 19 September, two separate anti-state-funeral rallies occurred in Shibuya and Sapporo. On 21 September 2022, a man, believed to be in his 70s, set himself alight near the Prime Minister's Office, after apparently writing an anti-state funeral note.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: On the day of the state funeral, about 200,000 police officers were deployed around Budokan to maintain law and order. About 3,000 opponents of the state funeral, led by opposing parties, matched from the Diet to Budokan. On their way, they clashed physically with proponents, while police officers attempted to separate the two parties outside of Budokan.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, many people were in favor of a state funeral, partly due to the shock. As the controversial relationships of the conservative ruling Liberal Demoratic Party (LDP) and the UC were revealed in an investigation, public opinion began to voice "opposition to state funerals". Koji Nakakita, a professor of political science at Hitotsubashi University, commented on the reason for the increase in public opinion against the state funeral, saying, "The biggest problem is the issue of the former Unification Church. When the shooting occurred, some people sympathized with it as 'blasphemy against democracy'. However, the tide turned sharply when the problems of the cult came to the surface." He pointed out that Abe and others had received cooperation from the cult during the national elections, commenting, "Was the former Unification Church used to win?"


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: Video capturing the surrounding area of the assassination from the sky by the television station was widely shared online by conspiracy theorists as a proof of Abe's death by sniper rifle, instead of Yamagami's homemade gun, from the roof of the nearby shopping mall Sanwa City Saidaiji. The conspiracy theory claimed that there was a white tent spotted on the roof of the mall in the video, and that tent was used as a hideout by the sniper. The management company of Sanwa City Saidaiji clarified that the tent was set up for the purpose of cleaning the ventilation ducts, and denied the possibility that it could have been used by anyone without authorization. A comedian admitted that he was responsible for spreading this conspiracy theory online. After receiving criticism, he published an apology video on YouTube.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: Several media outlets misidentified the video game developer Hideo Kojima as the assassin. The misreporting allegedly stemmed from jokes on the online message board 4chan and Twitter that were taken as fact and subsequently published by the far-right French politician , the Greek news outlet ANT1, and the Iranian website Mashregh News. ANT1 additionally reported that the suspect was "passionate about Che Guevara". ANT1 uploaded the broadcast to its YouTube account, but later removed it. Rieu took down the original tweet and issued an apology. Kojima's company, Kojima Productions, condemned the false reports and threatened legal action against those perpetuating the rumor.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: Some social media users also falsely claimed that a fabricated tweet by Abe, detailing supposed information that could incriminate Hillary Clinton, led to his death.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: Thirty minutes after the shooting, a threatening phone call was made to Matsuyama's office, where Abe had been initially scheduled to deliver a speech. A suspect was arrested on 9 July for making threats.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: The Hyogo prefectural police are investigating a death threat and resignation demand for Akashi Mayor Fusaho Izumi, who previously served as an aide to the assassinated lawmaker Kōki Ishii.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: Hours after the shooting, online assassination threats were made in Singapore and Taiwan against their respective leaders, Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong and Republic of China president Tsai Ing-wen. In Singapore, a 45-year-old man was arrested after his threats online were reported to the police. In Taiwan, the threat came from a 22-year-old man in Tainan, who was arrested at his home in Yongkang District.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: Thailand additionally tightened security around its government officials and planned to increase security at the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, due to be hosted in Bangkok on 17–18 November.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: Incumbent prime minister Fumio Kishida called the assassination an "unforgivable act" and an "act of cowardly barbarism". Noting that Abe was shot while delivering a campaign speech, Kishida also denounced the assassination as an attack on Japan's democracy and vowed to defend a "free and fair election at all costs".


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: Before Abe's death was announced, Governor of Tokyo Yuriko Koike stated that "no matter the reason, such a heinous act is absolutely unforgivable. It is an affront against democracy." Kazuo Shii, chairman of the Japanese Communist Party, called the assassination "barbaric", an attack on free speech and an act of terrorism in a post to Twitter. Tomohiko Taniguchi, a former advisor to Abe, compared his death to the assassination of John F. Kennedy in terms of likely social impact in Japan.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: Tomoaki Onizuka, head of Nara Prefecture Police, acknowledged security lapses at the political rally where Abe was killed, and pledged to identify and resolve the flaws, "It is undeniable that there were problems with the security for former prime minister Abe, and we will immediately identify the problems and take appropriate measures to resolve them".


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: On 11 July, Kishida's cabinet decided to award Abe Junior First Rank (), as well as the Collar of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum and Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum () effective 8 July, making Abe the fourth former prime minister since Yasuhiro Nakasone to be conferred the Collar under the current Constitution.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: In response to the shooting and Abe's subsequent death, representatives of numerous countries, including present and former world leaders, expressed their condolences.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: Anthony Albanese, prime minister of Australia, said that Japan had emerged as "one of Australia's most like-minded partners in Asia" under Abe's leadership. Albanese also mentioned Abe's foreign policy contributions, adding that the "Quad and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership are in many ways the results of his diplomatic leadership". Albanese said that Abe's legacy was "one of global impact, and a profound and positive one for Australia". Landmarks in Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney and Perth were lit up in red and white, and flags were flown at half-mast on the day of the funeral.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: National days of mourning were declared in Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Cambodia, Cuba and Sri Lanka, with all countries flying their flags at half-mast on their respective days of mourning. In Bangladesh, a day of state mourning was declared for 9 July. Jair Bolsonaro, president of Brazil, ordered three days of national mourning in Brazil, which is home to the world's largest population of Japanese descent outside of Japan. Narendra Modi, prime minister of India, announced that India would observe a day of national mourning on 9 July; Modi's reaction was regarded by some as an extremely personal one compared to other world leaders particularly for his addressal of the former Prime Minister as "Abe-san" in his blog where he paid tributes. Nepal and Bhutan declared their respective days of mourning for 9 July. Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen announced 10 July as a day of national mourning with entertainment venues being closed for that day. Cuba observed a day of national mourning on 11 July. On 12 July, Sri Lanka observed a day of national mourning with its flag flown at half-mast on state buildings. While formal mourning days were not proclaimed in Thailand, the government did fly flags at half-mast on 8 July, and the Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha paid a visit to the Japanese Embassy in Bangkok to pay respects in person.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: United States President Joe Biden ordered flags of the United States to be flown at half-staff until 10 July 2022, and visited the Japanese embassy to sign a condolence book. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unscheduled stop in Tokyo per request from President Biden, en route from the G20 Summit to the US, then met with PM Kishida to offer condolences in person, and shared letters that President Biden had written to the Abe family. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen canceled her visit to the Port of Yokohama during her visit to Japan, which was scheduled prior to the assassination of Abe. Yellen, alongside the Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, attended Abe's wake at Zōjō Temple on 11 July. Back in the US, members of both the Democratic and Republican parties offered tributes to Abe.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: The European Council released a photo and video library in memory of Abe, featuring the former prime minister's diplomatic interactions with leaders across the EU.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: Israeli President Isaac Herzog paid tribute to Abe as "one of Japan's most preeminent leaders in modern times", noting that he had been "deeply impressed" by Abe's "leadership, vision and respect for Israel" during his visit to the Jewish state in 2018.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: Releasing a joint statement, the leaders of the Quad nations of Australia, India, and the United States noted that the organisation would redouble its work towards "a peaceful and prosperous region" in honour of Abe. The White House noted that Abe played a formative role in the founding of the Quad partnership and worked tirelessly to advance a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific. In his official statement regarding the assassination, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau seconded the calls made by the Quad.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) Tsai Ing-wen announced that the nation would observe a national day of mourning on 11 July, with the flag of Taiwan flown at half-mast. Taipei 101 was also illuminated in multiple messages mourning the death of Abe. Lai Ching-te, Taiwan Vice President, visited Abe's residence as a special envoy of President Tsai to mourn Abe, along with Frank Hsieh, Taiwan's envoy to Japan, on 11 July. Lai became the highest-ranking Taiwanese official to visit Japan in 50 years after Japan severed its diplomatic relationship with Taiwan in 1972 in favour of China.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: and players paid silent tribute to mourn late Abe, before their rugby international test match at National Stadium in Tokyo; France's captain Charles Ollivon offered a jersey emblazoned with the name of Abe.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: Formula One Dutch driver Max Verstappen paid tribute to Abe after he won the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: The University of Southern California (USC) paid special condolences to Abe, who attended the university for three semesters studying English and Public Policy during a study abroad program. USC's president Carol Folt personally sent her own condolences.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) president, Thomas Bach, recognised Abe for being instrumental in securing the 2020 Summer Olympics for Tokyo before his tenure ended in 2020 as well as his "vision, determination and dependability" that enabled the IOC to make an unprecedented decision to postpone the Olympics by a year. The Olympic flag was flown in Lausanne at half-mast for three days.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: Despite official condolences sent by the Chinese and South Korean governments, many Chinese and South Korean internet users were unsympathetic to Abe's death. This stemmed from grievances concerning historical colonialism and war crimes by Imperial Japan, and towards nationalist Japanese politicians including Abe who denied or questioned some accounts of the atrocities. In Japan, the assassination led to a renewed level of scrutiny of the ties between the Unification Church and the Liberal Democratic Party, with the newspaper "Mainichi Shimbun" running an editorial denouncing the LDP's ties to the organization; anti-Unification Church slogans trended in Japan on social media platforms, and an online petition was launched seeking to deny Abe state honours due to his ties to the group. As of August 2022, approval for the Kishida government had fallen by 12%, and polling suggested that a majority of Japanese citizens were opposed to Abe being given a state funeral.


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: The UN Security Council paid tribute to Abe, saying, "He will be remembered as a staunch defender of multilateralism, respected leader, and supporter of the United Nations."


title: Assassination of Shinzo Abe

text: The American magazine "Time" unveiled the cover of its next issue, prominently featuring Abe's portrait in black and white. This will be Abe's fourth time featured on the magazine, with "Time" writing Abe would be "remembered for remaking Japan".


title: Jog Falls

text: Jog Falls is a waterfall on the Sharavati river located in the Western Ghats running between Uttara Kannada and Shimoga districts of Karnataka, India. It is the third highest plunge waterfall in India. It is a segmented waterfall which depends on rain and season to become a plunge waterfall. The falls are major attractions for tourists and is ranked 36th in the list of free-falling waterfalls, 490th in the world by list of waterfalls by total height, 128th in the list of single-drop waterfalls in the World by the waterfall database.


title: Jog Falls

text: Jog Falls is created by the Sharavati dropping , making it the third-highest waterfall in India after the Nohkalikai Falls with a drop of in Meghalaya and the Dudhsagar Falls with a drop of in Goa.


title: Jog Falls

text: Sharavathi, a river which rises at Ambutirtha, next to Nonabur, in the Thirthahalli taluk takes a northwesterly course by Fatte petta, receives the Haridravati on the right below Pattaguppe and the Yenne Hole on the left above Barangi. Then, it bends to the west, precipitates itself down the Jog Falls (aka Gersoppa Falls), and passes the village of Gersoppa (properly Geru-Sappe), which is some away, discharging into the Arabian Sea at Honnavar in Uttara Kannada.


title: Jog Falls

text: The Sharavathi, flowing over a very rocky bed about wide, reaches a tremendous chasm, deep, and the water comes down in four distinct falls, Raja, Rani, Roarer and Rocket. The Raja Fall comes down in one unbroken column sheer to the depth of . Halfway down, it is encountered by the Roarer, which precipitates itself into a vast cup and then rushes violently downwards to meet the Raja. The Rocket shoots downwards in a series of jets. The Rani moves quietly over the mountainside in a sheet of foam. The Tourism Department has built steps from the viewpoint at the top, where the waterfall can be seen from across, to the bottom of the hill. There are approximately 1,400 steps made to reach the bottom of the hill.


title: Jog Falls

text: Associated with the waterfall is the nearby Linganamakki Dam across the Sharavati River. The power station has been operational since 1948 and is of 120 MW capacity, one of the largest hydroelectric stations in India at that time and a small source of electric power for Karnataka now. The power station was previously named Krishna Rajendra hydro-electric project, after the King of Mysore at that time. The name was later changed to Mahatma Gandhi Hydro-electric Project. It was served by The Hirebhaskara dam until 1960. After 1960, due to the ideas of Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya, Linganmakki Dam has been used for power generation.


title: Jog Falls

text: The hydro-electric project was conceived by the government of Mysore in mid-1943. A scheme to generate 64,000 horsepower at a cost of 358 lakh was designed. The Power House on the right bank of the Gerusoppa dam consists of four Francis-type turbines coupled to the generating units of 60 MW each. The units are configured to operate at a design head of 47.5 mtrs. An outdoor switchyard is located between the toe of the dam and the power house. Power from the outdoor yard is evacuated through a 220 KV double circuit transmission line connected to the state grid at Talaguppa.


title: Panentheism

text: Panentheism ("all in God", from the Greek , and ) is the belief that the divine intersects every part of the universe and also extends beyond space and time. The term was coined by the German philosopher Karl Krause in 1828 to distinguish the ideas of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831) and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling (1775–1854) about the relation of God and the universe from the supposed pantheism of Baruch Spinoza, after reviewing Hindu scriptures. Unlike pantheism, which holds that the divine and the universe are identical, panentheism maintains an ontological distinction between the divine and the non-divine and the significance of both.


title: Panentheism

text: In panentheism, the universal spirit is present everywhere, which at the same time "transcends" all things created. While pantheism asserts that "all is God", panentheism claims that God is greater than the universe. Some versions of panentheism suggest that the universe is nothing more than the manifestation of God. In addition, some forms indicate that the universe is contained within God, like in the Kabbalah concept of tzimtzum. Much of Hindu thought is highly characterized by panentheism and pantheism.


title: Panentheism

text: The religious beliefs of Neoplatonism can be regarded as panentheistic. Plotinus taught that there was an ineffable transcendent God ("the One", "to En", τὸ Ἕν) of which subsequent realities were emanations. From "the One" emanates the Divine Mind ("Nous", Νοῦς) and the Cosmic Soul ("Psyche", Ψυχή). In Neoplatonism the world itself is God (according to Plato's Timaeus 37). This concept of divinity is associated with that of the "Logos" (Λόγος), which had originated centuries earlier with Heraclitus (c. 535–475 BC). The "Logos" pervades the cosmos, whereby all thoughts and all things originate, or as Heraclitus said: "He who hears not me but the Logos will say: All is one." Neoplatonists such as Iamblichus attempted to reconcile this perspective by adding another hypostasis above the original monad of force or "Dunamis" (Δύναμις). This new all-pervasive monad encompassed all creation and its original uncreated emanations.


title: Panentheism

text: Baruch Spinoza later claimed that "Whatsoever is, is in God, and without God nothing can be, or be conceived." "Individual things are nothing but modifications of the attributes of God, or modes by which the attributes of God are expressed in a fixed and definite manner." Though Spinoza has been called the "prophet" and "prince" of pantheism, in a letter to Henry Oldenburg Spinoza states that: "as to the view of certain people that I identify god with nature (taken as a kind of mass or corporeal matter), they are quite mistaken". For Spinoza, our universe (cosmos) is a mode under two attributes of Thought and Extension. God has infinitely many other attributes which are not present in our world.


title: Panentheism

text: According to German philosopher Karl Jaspers, when Spinoza wrote "Deus sive Natura" (God or Nature) Spinoza did not mean to say that God and Nature are interchangeable terms, but rather that God's transcendence was attested by his infinitely many attributes, and that two attributes known by humans, namely Thought and Extension, signified God's immanence. Furthermore, Martial Guéroult suggested the term "panentheism", rather than "pantheism" to describe Spinoza's view of the relation between God and the world. The world is not God, but it is, in a strong sense, "in" God. Yet, American philosopher and self-described panentheist Charles Hartshorne referred to Spinoza's philosophy as "classical pantheism" and distinguished Spinoza's philosophy from panentheism.


title: Panentheism

text: In 1828, the German philosopher Karl Christian Friedrich Krause (1781–1832) seeking to reconcile monotheism and pantheism, coined the term "panentheism" (from the Ancient Greek expression πᾶν ἐν θεῷ, "pān en theṓ", literally "all in god"). This conception of God influenced New England transcendentalists such as Ralph Waldo Emerson. The term was popularized by Charles Hartshorne in his development of process theology and has also been closely identified with the New Thought. The formalization of this term in the West in the 19th century was not new; philosophical treatises had been written on it in the context of Hinduism for millennia.


title: Panentheism

text: Philosophers who embraced panentheism have included Thomas Hill Green (1839–1882), James Ward (1843–1925), Andrew Seth Pringle-Pattison (1856–1931) and Samuel Alexander (1859–1938). Beginning in the 1940s, Hartshorne examined numerous conceptions of God. He reviewed and discarded pantheism, deism, and pandeism in favor of panentheism, finding that such a "doctrine contains all of deism and pandeism except their arbitrary negations". Hartshorne formulated God as a being who could become "more perfect": He has absolute perfection in categories for which absolute perfection is possible, and relative perfection (i. e., is superior to all others) in categories for which perfection cannot be precisely determined.


title: Panentheism

text: The Reverend Zen Master Soyen Shaku was the first Zen Buddhist Abbot to tour the United States in 1905–6. He wrote a series of essays collected into the book "Zen For Americans". In the essay titled "The God Conception of Buddhism" he attempts to explain how a Buddhist looks at the ultimate without an anthropomorphic God figure while still being able to relate to the term God in a Buddhist sense:


title: Panentheism

text: At the outset, let me state that Buddhism is not atheistic as the term is ordinarily understood. It has certainly a God, the highest reality and truth, through which and in which this universe exists. However, the followers of Buddhism usually avoid the term God, for it savors so much of Christianity, whose spirit is not always exactly in accord with the Buddhist interpretation of religious experience. Again, Buddhism is not pantheistic in the sense that it identifies the universe with God. On the other hand, the Buddhist God is absolute and transcendent; this world, being merely its manifestation, is necessarily fragmental and imperfect. To define more exactly the Buddhist notion of the highest being, it may be convenient to borrow the term very happily coined by a modern German scholar, "panentheism," according to which God is πᾶν καὶ ἕν (all and one) and more than the totality of existence.


title: Panentheism

text: The essay then goes on to explain first utilizing the term "God" for the American audience to get an initial understanding of what he means by "panentheism," and then discusses the terms that Buddhism uses in place of "God" such as Dharmakaya, Buddha or Adi-Buddha, and Tathagata.


title: Panentheism

text: Panentheism is also a feature of some Christian philosophical theologies and resonates strongly within the theological tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church. It also appears in process theology. Process theological thinkers are generally regarded in the Christian West as unorthodox. Furthermore, process philosophical thought is widely believed to have paved the way for open theism, a movement that tends to associate itself primarily with the Evangelical branch of Protestantism, but is also generally considered unorthodox by most Evangelicals.


title: Panentheism

text: A number of ordained Catholic mystics (including Richard Rohr, David Steindl-Rast, and Thomas Keating) have suggested that panentheism is the original view of Christianity. They hold that such a view is directly supported by mystical experience and the teachings of Jesus and Saint Paul. Richard Rohr surmises this in his 2019 book, "The Universal Christ":


title: Panentheism

text: Similarly, David Steindl-Rast posits that Christianity's original panentheism is being revealed through contemporary mystical insight:


title: Panentheism

text: Panentheistic conceptions of God occur amongst some modern theologians. Process theology and Creation Spirituality, two recent developments in Christian theology, contain panentheistic ideas. Charles Hartshorne (1897–2000), who conjoined process theology with panentheism, maintained a lifelong membership in the Methodist church but was also a Unitarian. In later years he joined the Austin, Texas, Unitarian Universalist congregation and was an active participant in that church. Referring to the ideas such as Thomas Oord's ‘theocosmocentrism’ (2010), the soft panentheism of open theism, Keith Ward's comparative theology and John Polkinghorne's critical realism (2009), Raymond Potgieter observes distinctions such as dipolar and bipolar:


title: Panentheism

text: The former suggests two poles separated such as God influencing creation and it in turn its creator (Bangert 2006:168), whereas bipolarity completes God’s being implying interdependence between temporal and eternal poles. (Marbaniang 2011:133), in dealing with Whitehead’s approach, does not make this distinction. I use the term bipolar as a generic term to include suggestions of the structural definition of God’s transcendence and immanence; to for instance accommodate a present and future reality into which deity must reasonably fit and function, and yet maintain separation from this world and evil whilst remaining within it.


title: Panentheism

text: Some argue that panentheism should also include the notion that God has always been related to some world or another, which denies the idea of creation out of nothing ("creatio ex nihilo"). Nazarene Methodist theologian Thomas Jay Oord (* 1965) advocates panentheism, but he uses the word "theocosmocentrism" to highlight the notion that God and some world or another are the primary conceptual starting blocks for eminently fruitful theology. This form of panentheism helps in overcoming the problem of evil and in proposing that God's love for the world is essential to who God is.


title: Panentheism

text: The Latter Day Saint movement teaches that the Light of Christ "proceeds from God through Christ and gives life and light to all things".


title: Panentheism

text: Manichaeists, being of another gnostic sect, preached a very different doctrine in positioning the true Manichaean God against matter as well as other deities, that it described as enmeshed with the world, namely the gods of Jews, Christians and pagans. Nevertheless, this dualistic teaching included an elaborate cosmological myth that narrates the defeat of primal man by the powers of darkness that devoured and imprisoned the particles of light.


title: Panentheism

text: Valentinian Gnosticism taught that matter came about through emanations of the supreme being, even if to some this event is held to be more accidental than intentional. To other gnostics, these emanations were akin to the Sephirot of the Kabbalists and deliberate manifestations of a transcendent God through a complex system of intermediaries.


title: Panentheism

text: The earliest reference to panentheistic thought in Hindu philosophy is in a creation myth contained in the later section of Rig Veda called the Purusha Sukta, which was compiled before 1100 BCE. The Purusha Sukta gives a description of the spiritual unity of the cosmos. It presents the nature of Purusha or the cosmic being as both immanent in the manifested world and yet transcendent to it. From this being the sukta holds, the original creative will proceeds, by which this vast universe is projected in space and time.


title: Panentheism

text: The most influential and dominant school of Indian philosophy, Advaita Vedanta, rejects theism and dualism by insisting that "Brahman [ultimate reality] is without parts or attributes...one without a second." Since Brahman has no properties, contains no internal diversity and is identical with the whole reality it cannot be understood as an anthropomorphic personal God. The relationship between Brahman and the creation is often thought to be panentheistic.


title: Panentheism

text: Many schools of Hindu thought espouse monistic theism, which is thought to be similar to a panentheistic viewpoint. Nimbarka's school of differential monism (Dvaitadvaita), Ramanuja's school of qualified monism (Vishistadvaita) and Saiva Siddhanta and Kashmir Shaivism are all considered to be panentheistic. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's Gaudiya Vaishnavism, which elucidates the doctrine of Achintya Bheda Abheda (inconceivable oneness and difference), is also thought to be panentheistic. In Kashmir Shaivism, all things are believed to be a manifestation of Universal Consciousness (Cit or Brahman). So from the point of view of this school, the phenomenal world ("Śakti") is real, and it exists and has its being in Consciousness (Ć"it"). Thus, Kashmir Shaivism is also propounding of theistic monism or panentheism.


title: Panentheism

text: Shaktism, or Tantra, is regarded as an Indian prototype of Panentheism. Shakti is considered to be the cosmos itself – she is the embodiment of energy and dynamism, and the motivating force behind all action and existence in the material universe. Shiva is her transcendent masculine aspect, providing the divine ground of all being. "There is no Shiva without Shakti, or Shakti without Shiva. The two ... in themselves are One." Thus, it is She who becomes the time and space, the cosmos, it is She who becomes the five elements, and thus all animate life and inanimate forms. She is the primordial energy that holds all creation and destruction, all cycles of birth and death, all laws of cause and effect within Herself, and yet is greater than the sum total of all these. She is transcendent, but becomes immanent as the cosmos (Mula Prakriti). She, the Primordial Energy, directly becomes Matter.


title: Panentheism

text: While mainstream Rabbinic Judaism is classically monotheistic, and follows in the footsteps of Maimonides (c. 1135–1204), the panentheistic conception of God can be found among certain mystical Jewish traditions. A leading scholar of Kabbalah, Moshe Idel ascribes this doctrine to the kabbalistic system of Moses ben Jacob Cordovero (1522–1570) and in the eighteenth century to the Baal Shem Tov (c. 1700–1760), founder of the Hasidic movement, as well as his contemporaries, Rabbi Dov Ber, the Maggid of Mezeritch (died 1772), and Menahem Mendel, the Maggid of Bar. This may be said of many, if not most, subsequent Hasidic masters. There is some debate as to whether Isaac Luria (1534–1572) and Lurianic Kabbalah, with its doctrine of tzimtzum, can be regarded as panentheistic.


title: Panentheism

text: According to Hasidism, the infinite Ein Sof is incorporeal and exists in a state that is both transcendent and immanent. This appears to be the view of non-Hasidic Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, as well. Hasidic Judaism merges the elite ideal of nullification to a transcendent God, via the intellectual articulation of inner dimensions through Kabbalah and with emphasis on the panentheistic divine immanence in everything.


title: Panentheism

text: Many scholars would argue that "panentheism" is the best single-word description of the philosophical theology of Baruch Spinoza. It is therefore no surprise, that aspects of panentheism are also evident in the theology of Reconstructionist Judaism as presented in the writings of Mordecai Kaplan (1881–1983), who was strongly influenced by Spinoza.


title: Panentheism

text: Several Sufi saints and thinkers, primarily Ibn Arabi, held beliefs that have been considered somewhat panentheistic. These notions later took shape in the theory of wahdat ul-wujud (the Unity of All Things). Some Sufi Orders, notably the Bektashis and the Universal Sufi movement, continue to espouse panentheistic beliefs. Nizari Ismaili follow panentheism according to Ismaili doctrine. Nevertheless, some Shia Muslims also do believe in different degrees of Panentheism.


title: Panentheism

text: Al-Qayyuum is a Name of God in the Qur'an which translates to "The Self-Existing by Whom all subsist". In Islam the universe can not exist if Allah doesn't exist, and it is only by His power which encompasses everything and which is everywhere that the universe can exist. In Ayaẗ al-Kursii God's throne is described as "extending over the heavens and the earth" and "He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them". This does not mean though that the universe is God, or that a creature (like a tree or an animal) is God, because those would be respectively pantheism, which is a heresy in traditional Islam, and the worst heresy in Islam, shirk (polytheism). God is separated by His creation but His creation can not survive without Him.


title: Panentheism

text: The Mesoamerican empires of the Mayas, Aztecs as well as the South American Incas (Tahuatinsuyu) have typically been characterized as polytheistic, with strong male and female deities. According to Charles C. Mann's history book "", only the lower classes of Aztec society were polytheistic. Philosopher James Maffie has argued that Aztec metaphysics was pantheistic rather than panentheistic, since Teotl was considered by Aztec philosophers to be the ultimate all-encompassing yet all-transcending force defined by its inherit duality.


title: Panentheism

text: Native American beliefs in North America have been characterized as panentheistic in that there is an emphasis on a single, unified divine spirit that is manifest in each individual entity. (North American Native writers have also translated the word for God as the Great Mystery or as the Sacred Other). This concept is referred to by many as the Great Spirit. Philosopher J. Baird Callicott has described Lakota theology as panentheistic, in that the divine both transcends and is immanent in everything.


title: Panentheism

text: One exception can be modern Cherokee who are predominantly monotheistic but apparently not panentheistic; yet in older Cherokee traditions many observe both aspects of pantheism and panentheism, and are often not beholden to exclusivity, encompassing other spiritual traditions without contradiction, a common trait among some tribes in the Americas. In the stories of Keetoowah storytellers Sequoyah Guess and Dennis Sixkiller, God is known as ᎤᏁᎳᏅᎯ, commonly pronounced "unehlanv," and visited earth in prehistoric times, but then left earth and her people to rely on themselves. This shows a parallel to Vaishnava cosmology.


title: Panentheism

text: In Konkōkyō, God is named "Tenchi Kane no Kami-Sama" which can mean "Golden spirit of the universe". Kami (God) is also seen as infinitely loving and powerful.


title: Plea bargain

text: A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or "nolo contendere." This may mean that the defendant will plead guilty to a less serious charge, or to one of the several charges, in return for the dismissal of other charges; or it may mean that the defendant will plead guilty to the original criminal charge in return for a more lenient sentence.


title: Plea bargain

text: A plea bargain allows both parties to avoid a lengthy criminal trial and may allow criminal defendants to avoid the risk of conviction at trial on a more serious charge. For example, in the legal system of the United States, a criminal defendant charged with a felony theft charge, the conviction of which would require imprisonment in state prison, may be offered the opportunity to plead guilty to a misdemeanor theft charge, which may not carry a custodial sentence.


title: Plea bargain

text: In cases such as an automobile collision when there is a potential for civil liability against the defendant, the defendant may agree to plead "no contest" or "guilty with a civil reservation", which essentially is a guilty plea without admitting civil liability.


title: Plea bargain

text: Plea bargaining can present a dilemma to defense attorneys, in that they must choose between vigorously seeking a good deal for their present client, or maintaining a good relationship with the prosecutor for the sake of helping future clients. However, in the case of the US for example, defense attorneys are required by the ethics of the bar to defend the present client's interests over the interests of others. Violation of this rule may result in disciplinary sanctions being imposed against the defense attorney by the appropriate state's bar association.


title: Plea bargain

text: In charge bargaining, defendants plead guilty to a less serious crime than the original charge that was filed against them. In count bargaining, they plead guilty to a subset of multiple original charges. In sentence bargaining, they plead guilty agreeing in advance what sentence will be given; however, this sentence can still be denied by the judge. In fact bargaining, defendants plead guilty but the prosecutor agrees to stipulate (i.e., to affirm or concede) certain facts that will affect how the defendant is punished under the sentencing guidelines.


title: Plea bargain

text: Plea bargaining was considered a predominantly American phenomenon during the 1970s, but has since spread throughout the world.


title: Plea bargain

text: Plea bargaining has been defended as a voluntary exchange that leaves both parties better off, in that defendants have many procedural and substantive rights, including a right to trial and to appeal a guilty verdict. By pleading guilty, defendants waive those rights in exchange for a commitment from the prosecutor, such as a reduced charge or more favorable sentence. For a defendant who believes that conviction is almost certain, a discount to the sentence is more useful than an unlikely chance of acquittal. The prosecutor secures a conviction while avoiding the need to commit time and resources to trial preparation and a possible trial. Plea bargaining similarly helps preserve money and resources for the court in which the prosecution occurs. It also means that victims and witnesses do not have to testify at the trial, which in some cases may be traumatic.


title: Plea bargain

text: Plea bargaining is criticized, particularly outside the United States, on the grounds that its close relationship with rewards, threats and coercion potentially endanger the correct legal outcome.


title: Plea bargain

text: Even when the charges are more serious, prosecutors often can still bluff defense attorneys and their clients into pleading guilty to a lesser offense. As a result, people who might have been acquitted because of lack of evidence, but also who are in fact truly innocent, will often plead guilty to the charge. Why? In a word, fear. And the more numerous and serious the charges, studies have shown, the greater the fear. That explains why prosecutors sometimes seem to file every charge imaginable against defendants.


title: Plea bargain

text: This tactic is prohibited in some other countries—for example in the United Kingdom the prosecutor's code states:


title: Plea bargain

text: Prosecutors should never go ahead with more charges than are necessary just to encourage a defendant to plead guilty to a few. In the same way, they should never go ahead with a more serious charge just to encourage a defendant to plead guilty to a less serious one.


title: Plea bargain

text: The over-riding duty of the prosecutor is ... to see that justice is done. The procedures must command public and judicial confidence. Many defendants in serious and complex fraud cases are represented by solicitors experienced in commercial litigation, including negotiation. This means that the defendant is usually protected from being put under improper pressure to plead. The main danger to be guarded against in these cases is that the prosecutor is persuaded to agree to a plea or a basis that is not in the public interest and interests of justice because it does not adequately reflect the seriousness of the offending ... Any plea agreement must reflect the seriousness and extent of the offending and give the court adequate sentencing powers. It must consider the impact of an agreement on victims and also the wider public, whilst respecting the rights of defendants.


title: Plea bargain

text: John H. Langbein argues that the modern American system of plea bargaining is comparable to the medieval European system of torture:


title: Plea bargain

text: There is, of course, a difference between having your limbs crushed if you refuse to confess, or suffering some extra years of imprisonment if you refuse to confess, but the difference is of degree, not kind. Plea bargaining, like torture, is coercive. Like the medieval Europeans, the Americans are now operating a procedural system that engages in condemnation without adjudication.


title: Plea bargain

text: Theoretical work based on the prisoner's dilemma is one reason that, in many countries, plea bargaining is forbidden. Often, precisely the prisoner's dilemma scenario applies: it is in the interest of both suspects to confess and testify against the other suspect, irrespective of the innocence of the accused. Arguably, the worst case is when only one party is guilty: here, the innocent one has no incentive to confess, while the guilty one has a strong incentive to confess and give testimony (including "false" testimony) against the innocent.


title: Plea bargain

text: A 2009 study by the European Association of Law and Economics observed that innocent defendants are consistently more likely than guilty defendants to reject otherwise-favorable pleas proposals, even when theoretically disadvantageous to do so, because of perceived unfairness, and would do so even if the expected sanction would be worse if they proceeded to trial. The study concluded that "[t]his somewhat counterintuitive 'cost of innocence', where the preferences of innocents lead them collectively to fare worse than their guilty counterparts, is further increased by the practice of imposing much harsher sentences at trial on defendants who contest the charges. This 'trial penalty' seeks to facilitate guilty pleas by guilty defendants [...and ironically...] disproportionately, collectively, penalizes innocents, who reject on fairness grounds some offers their guilty counterparts accept."


title: Plea bargain

text: The extent to which innocent people will accept a plea bargain and plead guilty is contentious and has been subjected to considerable research. Much research has focused on the relatively few actual cases where innocence was subsequently proven, such as successful appeals for murder and rape based upon DNA evidence, which tend to be atypical of trials as a whole (being by their nature only the most serious kinds of crime). Other studies have focused on presenting hypothetical situations to subjects and asking what choice they would make. More recently some studies have attempted to examine actual reactions of innocent persons generally, when faced with actual plea bargain decisions. A study by Dervan and Edkins (2013) attempted to recreate a real-life controlled plea bargain situation, rather than merely asking theoretical responses to a theoretical situation—a common approach in previous research. It placed subjects in a situation where an accusation of academic fraud (cheating) could be made, of which some subjects were in fact by design actually guilty (and knew this), and some were innocent but faced seemingly strong evidence of guilt and no verifiable proof of innocence. Each subject was presented with the evidence of guilt and offered a choice between facing an academic ethics board and potentially a heavy penalty in terms of extra courses and other forfeits, or admitting guilt and accepting a lighter "sentence". The study found that as expected from court statistics, around 90% of accused subjects who were actually guilty chose to take the plea-bargain and plead guilty. It also found that around 56% of subjects who were actually innocent (and privately knew it) also take up the plea-bargain and plead guilty, for reasons including avoiding formal quasi-legal processes, uncertainty, possibility of greater harm to personal future plans, or deprivation of home environment due to remedial courses. The authors stated:


title: Plea bargain

text: Previous research has argued that the innocence problem is minimal because defendants are risk-prone and willing to defend themselves before a tribunal. Our research, however, demonstrates that when study participants are placed in real, rather than hypothetical, bargaining situations and are presented with accurate information regarding their statistical probability of success, just as they might be so informed by their attorney or the government during a criminal plea negotiation, innocent defendants are highly risk-averse.


title: Plea bargain

text: More pressure to plea bargain may be applied in weak cases (where there is less certainty of both guilt and jury conviction) than strong cases. Prosecutors tend to be strongly motivated by conviction rates, and "there are many indications that prosecutors are willing to go a long way to avoid losing cases, [and that] when prosecutors decide to proceed with such weak cases they are often willing to go a long way to assure that a plea bargain is struck". Prosecutors often have great power to procure a desired level of incentive, as they select the charges to be presented. For this reason,


title: Plea bargain

text: [P]lea bargains are just as likely in strong and weak cases. Prosecutors only need to adjust the offer to the probability of conviction in order to reach an agreement. Thus, weaker cases result in more lenient plea bargains, and stronger ones in relative harshness, but both result in an agreement. [... W]hen the case is weak, the parties must rely on charge bargaining ... But [charge bargaining] is hardly an obstacle. Charge bargaining in weak cases is not the exception; it is the norm all around the country. Thus, even if the evidence against innocent defendants is, on average, weaker, the likelihood of plea bargains is not dependent on guilt.


title: Plea bargain

text: Another situation in which an innocent defendant may plead guilty is in the case of a defendant who cannot raise bail, and who is being held in custody in a jail or detention facility. Because it may take months, or even years, for criminal cases to come to trial or even indictment in some jurisdictions, an innocent defendant who is offered a plea bargain that includes a sentence of less time than they would otherwise spend in jail awaiting an indictment or a trial may choose to accept the plea arrangement and plead guilty.


title: Plea bargain

text: Agency problems may arise in plea bargaining as, although the prosecutor represents the people and the defense attorney represents the defendant, these agents' goals may not be congruent with those of their principals. For example, prosecutors and defense attorneys may seek to maintain good relations with one another, creating a potential conflict with the parties they represent. A defense attorney may receive a flat fee for representing a client, or may not receive additional money for taking a case to trial, creating an incentive for the defense attorney to settle a case to increase profits or to avoid a financial loss.


title: Plea bargain

text: A prosecutor may want to maintain a high conviction rate or avoid a losing high-profile trials, creating the potential that they will enter into a plea bargain that furthers their interests but reduces the potential of the prosecution and sentence to deter crime. Prosecutors may also make charging decisions that significantly affect a defendant's sentence, and may file charges or offer plea deals that cause even an innocent defendant to consider or accept a plea bargain.


title: Plea bargain

text: Another argument against plea bargaining is that it may not actually reduce the costs of administering justice. For example, if a prosecutor has only a 25% chance of winning his case and sending a defendant away to prison for 10 years, they may make a plea agreement for a sentence of one year; but if plea bargaining is unavailable, a prosecutor may drop the case completely.


title: Plea bargain

text: Plea bargaining is a significant part of the criminal justice system in the United States; the vast majority (roughly 90%) of criminal cases in the United States are settled by plea bargain rather than by a jury trial. Plea bargains are subject to the approval of the court, and different states and jurisdictions have different rules. The Federal Sentencing Guidelines are followed in federal cases and have been created to ensure a standard of uniformity in all cases decided in the federal courts. A two- or three-level offense level reduction is usually available for those who accept responsibility by not holding the prosecution to the burden of proving its case; this usually amounts to a complete sentence reduction had they gone to trial and lost.


title: Plea bargain

text: The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure provide for two main types of plea agreements. An 11(c)(1)(B) agreement does not bind the court; the prosecutor's recommendation is merely advisory, and the defendant cannot withdraw their plea if the court decides to impose a sentence other than what was stipulated in the agreement. An 11(c)(1)(C) agreement, however, binds the court once the court accepts the agreement. When such an agreement is proposed, the court can reject it if it disagrees with the proposed sentence, in which case the defendant has an opportunity to withdraw their plea.


title: Plea bargain

text: Plea bargains are so common in the Superior Courts of California (the general trial courts) that the Judicial Council of California has published an optional seven-page form (containing all mandatory advisements required by federal and state law) to help prosecutors and defense attorneys reduce such bargains into written plea agreements.


title: Plea bargain

text: Certain aspects of the American justice system serve to promote plea bargaining. For example, the adversarial nature of the U.S. criminal justice system puts judges in a passive role, in which they have no independent access to information with which to assess the strength of the case against the defendant. The prosecutor and defense may thus control the outcome of a case through plea bargaining. The court must approve a plea bargain as being within the interests of justice.


title: Plea bargain

text: The lack of compulsory prosecution also gives prosecutors greater discretion as well as the inability of crime victims to mount a private prosecution and their limited ability to influence plea agreements. Defendants who are held in custody—who either do not have the right to bail or cannot afford bail, or who do not qualify for release on their own recognizance—may get out of jail immediately following the judge's acceptance of a plea.


title: Plea bargain

text: Generally, once a plea bargain is made and accepted by the courts, the matter is final and cannot be appealed. However, a defendant may withdraw his plea for certain legal reasons, and a defendant may agree to a "conditional" plea bargain, whereby they plead guilty and accept a sentence, but reserve the right to appeal a specific matter (such as violation of a constitutional right). If the defendant does not win on appeal the agreement is carried out; if the defendant is successful on appeal the bargain is terminated. The defendant in "Doggett v. United States" made such a bargain, reserving the right to appeal solely on the grounds that he was not given a speedy trial as required by the United States Constitution; Doggett's claim was upheld by the United States Supreme Court and he was freed.


title: Plea bargain

text: In Canada, the courts always have the final say with regard to sentencing. Nevertheless, plea bargaining has become an accepted part of the criminal justice system although judges and Crown attorneys are often reluctant to refer to it as such. In most Canadian criminal proceedings, the Crown has the ability to recommend a lighter sentence than it would seek following a guilty verdict in exchange for a guilty plea.


title: Plea bargain

text: Like other common law jurisdictions, the Crown can also agree to withdraw some charges against the defendant in exchange for a guilty plea. This has become standard procedure for certain offences such as impaired driving. In the case of hybrid offences, the Crown must make a binding decision as to whether to proceed summarily or by indictment prior to the defendant making his or her plea. If the Crown elects to proceed summarily and the defendant then pleads not guilty, the Crown cannot change its election. Therefore, the Crown is not in a position to offer to proceed summarily in exchange for a guilty plea.


title: Plea bargain

text: Canadian judges are not bound by the Crown's sentencing recommendations and could impose harsher (or more lenient) penalties. Therefore, the Crown and the defence will often make a "joint submission" with respect to sentencing. While a joint submission can entail both the Crown and defence recommending exactly the same disposition of a case, this is not common except in cases that are sufficiently minor that the Crown is willing to recommend a discharge. In more serious cases, a joint submission normally call for a sentence within relatively narrow range, with the Crown arguing for a sentence at the upper end of the range and the defence arguing for a sentence at the lower end, so as to maintain the visibility of the judge's ability to exercise discretion.


title: Plea bargain

text: Judges are not bound to impose a sentence within the range of a joint submission, and a judge's disregard for a joint submission is not in itself grounds for the sentence to be altered on appeal. However, if a judge routinely disregards joint submissions, that judge would compromise the ability of the Crown to offer meaningful incentives for defendants to plead guilty. Defence lawyers would become reluctant to enter into joint submissions if they were thought to be of little value with a particular judge, which would thus result in otherwise avoidable trials. For these reasons, Canadian judges will normally impose a sentence within the range of any joint submission.


title: Plea bargain

text: Following a Supreme Court of Canada ruling that imposes strict time limits on the resolution of criminal cases (eighteen months for cases in provincial court and thirty months for cases in Superior Court), several provinces have initiated and intensified measures intended to maximize the number of minor criminal cases resolved by a plea bargain.


title: Plea bargain

text: Largely particular to the Canadian justice system is that further negotiations concerning the final disposition of a criminal case may also arise even after a sentence has been passed. This is because in Canada the Crown has (by common law standards) a very broad right to appeal acquittals, and also a right to appeal for harsher sentences except in cases where the sentence imposed was maximum allowed. Therefore, in Canada, after sentencing the defence sometimes has an incentive to try to persuade the Crown to not appeal a case, in exchange for the defence also declining to appeal. While, strictly speaking, this is not plea bargaining, it is done for largely the same reasons.


title: Plea bargain

text: Plea bargaining is permitted in the legal system of England and Wales. The guidelines by the Sentencing Council require that the discount it gives to the sentence be determined by the timing of the plea and no other factors. The guidelines state that the earlier the guilty plea is entered, the greater the discount to the sentence. The maximum discount permitted is one third, for a plea entered at the earliest stage. There is no minimum discount; a guilty plea entered on the first proper day of the trial would be expected to provide a discount of one tenth. The discount can sometimes involve changing the type of punishment, such as substituting a prison sentence for community service.


title: Plea bargain

text: Plea bargaining in magistrates' court trials is permitted only to the extent that the prosecutors and the defence can agree that the defendant will plead guilty to some charges and the prosecutor will drop the remainder. However, although this is not conducting a plea bargain, in cases before the Crown Court, the defence can request an indication from the judge of the likely maximum sentence that would be imposed should the defendant decide to plead guilty.


title: Plea bargain

text: In the case of hybrid offences in England and Wales, the decision whether to deal with a case in a magistrates' court or the Crown Court is not made by magistrates until after a plea has been entered. A defendant is thus unable to plead guilty in exchange for having a case dealt with in magistrates' court (which has lesser sentencing powers).


title: Plea bargain

text: Plea bargaining was introduced in India by "The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2005", which amended the Code of Criminal Procedure and introduced a new chapter, XXI(A), in the code, enforceable from July 5, 2006. It allows plea bargaining for cases in which the maximum punishment is imprisonment for seven years; however, offenses affecting the socio-economic condition of the country and offenses committed against a woman or a child below 14 are excluded.


title: Plea bargain

text: In 2007, the Sakharam Bandekar case became the first such case in India where the accused, Sakharam Bandekar, requested lesser punishment in return for confessing to his crime (using plea bargaining). However, the court rejected his plea and accepted the CBI's argument that the accused was facing serious charges of corruption. Finally, the court convicted Bandekar and sentenced him to three years' imprisonment.


title: Plea bargain

text: Plea bargaining as a formal legal provision was introduced in Pakistan by the National Accountability Ordinance 1999, an anti-corruption law. A special feature of this plea bargain is that the accused applies for it, accepting guilt, and offers to return the proceeds of corruption as determined by investigators and prosecutors. After an endorsement by the Chairman National Accountability Bureau, the request is presented before the court, which decides whether it should be accepted or not. If the request for plea bargain is accepted by the court, the accused stands convicted but neither is sentenced if in trial nor undergoes any sentence previously pronounced by a lower court if in appeal. The accused is disqualified to take part in elections, hold any public office, or obtain a loan from any bank; the accused is also dismissed from service if a government official.


title: Plea bargain

text: In other cases, formal plea bargains in Pakistan are limited, but the prosecutor has the authority to drop a case or a charge in a case and, in practice, often does so, in return for a defendant pleading guilty on some lesser charge. No bargaining takes place over the penalty, which is the court's sole privilege.


title: Plea bargain

text: In some common law jurisdictions, such as Singapore and the Australian state of Victoria, plea bargaining is practiced only to the extent that the prosecution and the defense can agree that the defendant will plead guilty to some charges or to reduced charges in exchange for the prosecutor withdrawing the remaining or more serious charges. In New South Wales, a 10-25% discount on the sentence is customarily given in exchange for an early guilty plea, but this concession is expected to be granted by the judge as a way of recognizing the utilitarian value of an early guilty plea to the justice system - it is never negotiated with a prosecutor. The courts in these jurisdictions have made it plain that they will always decide what the appropriate penalty is to be. No bargaining takes place between the prosecution and the defence over criminal penalties.


title: Plea bargain

text: Plea bargaining is extremely difficult in jurisdictions based on the civil law. This is because, unlike common law systems, civil law systems have no concept of plea—if the defendant confesses; a confession is entered into evidence, but the prosecution is not absolved of the duty to present a full case. A court may decide that a defendant is innocent even though they presented a full confession. Also, unlike common law systems, prosecutors in civil law countries may have limited or no power to drop or reduce charges after a case has been filed, and in some countries their power to drop or reduce charges "before" a case has been filed is limited, making plea bargaining impossible. Since the 1980s, some civil law nations have adapted their systems to allow for plea bargaining.


title: Plea bargain

text: In 2013 Brazil passed a law allowing plea bargains, which have been used in the political corruption trials taking place since then.


title: Plea bargain

text: In the Central African Republic, witchcraft carries heavy penalties but those accused of it typically confess in exchange for a modest sentence.


title: Plea bargain

text: In China, a plea bargaining pilot scheme was introduced by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in 2016. For defendants that face jail terms of three years or fewer, agrees to plead guilty voluntarily and agree with prosecutors' crime and sentencing proposals are given mitigated punishments.


title: Plea bargain

text: In 2009, in a case about whether witness testimony originating from a plea deal in the United States was admissible in a Danish criminal trial "(297/2008 H)", the Supreme Court of Denmark (Danish: Højesteret) unanimously ruled that plea bargains are "prima facie" not legal under Danish law, but that the witnesses in the particular case would be allowed to testify regardless (with the caveat that the lower court consider the possibility that the testimony was untrue or at least influenced by the benefits of the plea bargain). The Supreme Court did, however, point out that Danish law contains mechanisms similar to plea bargains, such as of the Danish Penal Code (Danish: "Straffeloven") which states that a sentence may be reduced if the perpetrator of a crime provides information that helps solve a crime perpetrated by others, or of the Danish Competition Law (Danish: "Konkurrenceloven") which states that someone can apply to avoid being fined or prosecuted for participating in a cartel if they provide information about the cartel that the authorities did not know at the time.


title: Plea bargain

text: If a defendant admits to having committed a crime, the prosecution does not have to file charges against them, and the case can be heard as a so-called "admission case" (Danish: "tilståelsessag") under of the Law on the Administration of Justice (Danish: "Retsplejeloven") provided that: the confession is supported by other pieces of evidence (meaning that a confession is not enough to convict someone on its own); both the defendant and the prosecutor consent to it; the court does not have any objections; §§ 68, 69, 70 and 73 of the penal code do not apply to the case.


title: Plea bargain

text: In Estonia, plea bargaining was introduced in the 1990s: the penalty is reduced in exchange for confession and avoiding most of the court proceedings. Plea bargaining is permitted for the crimes punishable by no more than four years of imprisonment. Normally, a 25% reduction of the penalty is given.


title: Plea bargain

text: The introduction of a limited form of plea bargaining ("comparution sur reconnaissance préalable de culpabilité" or CRPC, often summarized as "plaider coupable") in 2004 was highly controversial in France. In this system, the public prosecutor could propose to suspects of relatively minor crimes a penalty not exceeding one year in prison; the deal, if accepted, had to be accepted by a judge. Opponents, usually lawyers and leftist political parties, argued that plea bargaining would greatly infringe on the rights of defense, the long-standing constitutional right of presumption of innocence, the rights of suspects in police custody, and the right to a fair trial.


title: Plea bargain

text: For instance, Robert Badinter argued that plea bargaining would give too much power to the public prosecutor and would encourage defendants to accept a sentence only to avoid the risk of a bigger sentence in a trial, even if they did not really deserve it. Only a minority of criminal cases are settled by that method: in 2009, 77,500 out of the 673,700 or 11.5% of the decisions by the correctional courts.


title: Plea bargain

text: Plea bargaining (Georgian: საპროცესო შეთანხმება, literally "plea agreement") was introduced in Georgia in 2004. The substance of the Georgian plea bargaining is similar to the United States and other common law jurisdictions.


title: Plea bargain

text: A plea bargaining, also called a plea agreement or negotiated plea, is an alternative and consensual way of criminal case settlement. A plea agreement means settlement of case without main hearing when the defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for a lesser charge or for a more lenient sentence or for dismissal of certain related charges. (Article 209 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia)


title: Plea bargain

text: The main principle of the plea bargaining is that it must be based on the free will of the defendant, equality of the parties and advanced protection of the rights of the defendant:


title: Plea bargain

text: While concluding the plea agreement, the prosecutor is obliged to take into consideration public interest, severity of the penalty, and personal characteristics of the defendant. (Article 210 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia)


title: Plea bargain

text: To avoid abuse of powers, legislation foresees written consent of the supervisory prosecutor as necessary precondition to conclude plea agreement and to amend its provisions. (Article 210 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia)


title: Plea bargain

text: The court must satisfy itself that the plea agreement is concluded on the basis of the free will of the defendant, that the defendant fully acknowledges the essence of the plea agreement and its consequences. (Article 212 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia)


title: Plea bargain

text: A guilty plea of the defendant is not enough to render a guilty judgment. (Article 212 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia) Consequently, the court is obliged to discuss two issues:


title: Plea bargain

text: After both criteria are satisfied the court additionally checks whether formalities related to the legislative requirements are followed and only then makes its decision.


title: Plea bargain

text: If the court finds that presented evidence is not sufficient to support the charges or that a motion to render a judgment without substantial consideration of a case is submitted in violation of the requirements stipulated by the Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia, it shall return the case to the prosecution. The court before returning the case to the prosecutor offers the parties to change the terms of the agreement. If the changed terms do not satisfy the court, then it shall return the case to the prosecution. (Article 213 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia).


title: Plea bargain

text: If the court satisfies itself that the defendant fully acknowledges the consequences of the plea agreement, and he or she was represented by the defense council, his or her will is expressed in full compliance with the legislative requirements without deception and coercion, also if there is enough body of doubtless evidence for the conviction and the agreement is reached on legitimate sentence - the court approves the plea agreement and renders guilty judgment. If any of the abovementioned requirements are not satisfied, the court rejects to approve the plea agreement and returns the case to the prosecutor. (Article 213 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia).


title: Plea bargain

text: The plea agreement is concluded between the parties - the prosecutor and the defendant. Notwithstanding the fact that the victim is not party to the criminal case and the prosecutor is not a tool in the hands of the victim to obtain revenge against the offender, the attitude of the victim in relation to the plea agreement is still important.


title: Plea bargain

text: Under Article 217 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia, the prosecutor is obliged to consult with the victim prior to concluding the plea agreement and inform him or her about this. In addition, under the Guidelines of the Prosecution Service of Georgia, the prosecutor is obliged to take into consideration the interests of the victim and as a rule conclude the plea agreement after the damage is compensated.


title: Plea bargain

text: Plea agreements have made a limited appearance in Germany. However, there is no exact equivalent of a guilty plea in German criminal procedure.


title: Plea bargain

text: Italy has a form of bargaining, popularly known as "patteggiamento" but that has a technical name of penalty application under request of the parts. In fact, the bargaining is not about the charges, but about the penalty applied in sentence, reduced up to one third.


title: Plea bargain

text: When the defendant deems that the punishment that would, concretely, be handed down is less than a five-year imprisonment (or that it would just be a fine), the defendant may request to plea bargain with the prosecutor. The defendant is rewarded with a reduction on the sentence and has other advantages (such as that the defendant does not pay the fees on the proceeding). The defendant must accept the penalty for the charges (even if the plea-bargained sentence has some particular matters in further compensation proceedings), no matter how serious the charges are.


title: Plea bargain

text: Sometimes, the prosecutor agrees to reduce a charge or to drop some of multiple charges in exchange for the defendant's acceptance of the penalty. The defendant, in the request, could argue with the penalty and aggravating and extenuating circumstancing with the prosecutor, that can accept or refuse. The request could also be made by the prosecutor. The plea bargaining could be granted if the penalty that could be concretely applied is, after the reduction of one third, inferior to five-year imprisonment (so called "patteggiamento allargato", wide bargaining); When the penalty applied, after the reduction of one third, is inferior of two years imprisonment or is only a fine (so called "patteggiamento ristretto" limited bargaining), the defendant can have other advantages, like sentence suspended and the effacement of the crime if in five year of the sentence, the defendant does not commit a similar crime.


title: Plea bargain

text: In the request, when it could be applied the conditional suspension of the penalty according to the article 163 and following of the Italian penal code, the defendant could subordinate the request to the grant of the suspension; if the judge rejects the suspension, the bargaining is refused. When both the prosecutor and the defendant have come to an agreement, the proposal is submitted to the judge, who can refuse or accept the plea bargaining.


title: Plea bargain

text: According to Italian law, a bargain does not need a guilty plea (in Italy there is no plea declaration); for this reason, a bargaining sentence is only an acceptance of the penalty in exchange with the stop of investigation and trial and has no binding cogency in other trials, especially in civil trials in which parts argue of the same facts at the effects of civil liability and in other criminal trials in which are processed the accomplices of the defendant that had requested and got a bargaining sentence.


title: Plea bargain

text: In Japan, plea bargaining was previously forbidden by law, although sources reported that prosecutors illegally offered defendants plea bargains in exchange for their confessions.


title: Plea bargain

text: Plea bargaining was introduced in Japan in June 2018. The first case of plea bargaining under this system, in July 2018, involved allegations of bribery by Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems in Thailand. The second case was a November 2018 deal to obtain evidence of accounting and securities law violations against Nissan executives Carlos Ghosn and Greg Kelly.


title: Plea bargain

text: Under the Japanese system, formally known as the , plea bargaining is available in prosecutions for organized crime, competition law violations, and economic crimes such as securities law violations. The prosecutor, defendant, and defense counsel each sign a written agreement, which must then be admitted into evidence in a public court without delay.


title: Plea bargain

text: Poland also adopted a limited form of plea bargaining, which is applicable only to minor felonies (punishable by no more than 10 years of imprisonment). The procedure is called “voluntary submission to a penalty” and allows the court to pass an agreed sentence without reviewing the evidence, which significantly shortens the trial.


title: Plea bargain

text: However, the court may object to the terms of proposed plea agreement (even if already agreed between the defendant, victim and prosecutor) and suggest changes (not specific but rather general). If the defendant accepts these suggestions and changes his penalty proposition, the court approves it and passes the verdict according to the plea agreement. In spite of the agreement, all the parties of the trial: prosecution, defendant and the victim as an auxiliary prosecutor (in Poland, the victim may declare that he wants to act as an "auxiliary prosecutor" and consequently gains the rights similar to official prosecutor) - have the right to appeal.


title: Plea bargain

text: Spain has relatively recently adopted a limited form of plea bargaining and the procedure is called a "conformity sentence" meaning the accused is in agreement and can only be used in minor charges but not in serious charges where nine or more years of prison may be imposed.


title: Johnny Gill

text: Johnny Gill Jr. (born May 22, 1966) is an American singer and actor. He is the sixth and final member of the R&B/pop group New Edition and was also a member of the supergroup called LSG, with Gerald Levert and Keith Sweat. Gill has released eight solo albums, three albums with New Edition, two albums with LSG, and one collaborative album with Stacy Lattisaw. Gill has sold over 15 million copies worldwide as a solo artist.


title: Johnny Gill

text: Gill was born on May 22, 1966, in Washington, D.C., the son of Johnny Gill Sr., a Baptist minister, and his wife, Annie Mae Gill, who had four boys. He started singing at the age of five, performing in church in a family gospel group called Little Johnny and "Wings of Faith", which included his brothers Bobby, Jeff, and Randy Gill, a solo recording artist and member of the group II D Extreme. Gill attended Kimball Elementary, Sousa Junior High, and Duke Ellington School of the Arts. His career dictated that he complete his high-school education through the services of a tutor. Gill planned to attend college to pursue a degree in electrical engineering, but decided instead to focus on his singing career.


title: Johnny Gill

text: Gill's recording career began in 1982, at the age of 16, when his childhood friend Stacy Lattisaw convinced him to record a demo. This demo fell into the hands of the president of Atlantic Records, and his first self-titled debut album was released shortly thereafter on Atlantic subsidiary Cotillion Records. Gill then teamed up with Stacy for the duet album "Perfect Combination". A second solo album on Cotillion Records, "Chemistry", was released in 1985.


title: Johnny Gill

text: Gill began a new chapter in his career in 1987, when he was recruited by Michael Bivins to join New Edition. Bobby Brown had been voted out of the group and Gill was brought in to replace lead singer Ralph Tresvant, who was rumored at the time to be leaving to pursue a solo career. Gill became the only member of New Edition who was not from Boston. With Gill, the oldest member, as one of the lead singers (along with Tresvant, who ended up staying with New Edition and delaying the launch of his solo career) on the album "Heart Break", the group developed a more mature, adult sound, hitting the charts with songs such as "Can You Stand The Rain", "N.E. Heartbreak", "If It Isn't Love", and the Gill-led "Boys To Men".


title: Johnny Gill

text: Continuing his role as a romantic balladeer while emerging as a new jack swing star, he released a self-titled third album in 1990, which included the hits "My, My, My", "Rub You the Right Way", "Fairweather Friend", and "Wrap My Body Tight".


title: Johnny Gill

text: In 1993, Gill released another solo project, "Provocative", which included the songs "Quiet Time to Play", "A Cute, Sweet, Love Addiction", and the gospel song, "I Know Where I Stand".


title: Johnny Gill

text: In 1996, Gill released "Let's Get the Mood Right", which included the song, "Love In an Elevator", and the single "Maybe". In 1996, Johnny reunited with New Edition and recorded the album "Home Again".


title: Johnny Gill

text: In 1997, he collaborated with Gerald Levert and Keith Sweat to form the supergroup "LSG" (Levert/Sweat/Gill), which yielded the multi- platinum debut album, "Levert.Sweat.Gill", and their final album "LSG2" in 2003. In 2004, he reunited with New Edition; they signed with Bad Boy Records and released the album "One Love", which included the single "Hot 2Nite".


title: Johnny Gill

text: In 2011, 15 years after recording his last solo album, Gill returned with "Still Winning", which included "In The Mood", "Just The Way You Are", "It Would Be You", and "2nd Place". In 2014, Gill left Fontana Records and started his own label, J Skillz Records, on which he released a new album called "Game Changer". The album produced several adult R&B radio hits, including the singles "Behind Closed Doors" and the title track, "Game Changer". His New Edition bandmates appear on "This One's For Me And You". Gill joined Fantasia as an opener for Charlie Wilson's In It To Win It tour, which kicked off in February 2017. On September 6, 2019, Gill released his album "Game Changer II".