CRIMINAL JUSTICE IN JAPANCHAPTER 1 STRUCTURE AND ORGANIZATION OF THE CRIMINALJUSTICE ADMINISTRATIONI.

POLICEA.

Overview

The police are the primary investigative agency in Japan. Police responsibilities under the Police
Act include “protecting life, person, and property; preventing, suppressing, and investigating crimes;
apprehending suspects; traffic enforcement; and maintaining public safety and order.”Actual police duties are executed by prefectural police organizations, while the national police
organization undertakes: the planning of police policies and systems; control of police operations on
national safety issues; and co-ordination of police administration.
As of 2013 , the authorized police strength is 293,588 nationwide, of which 7,721 belong to
the National Police Agency and 285,867 to the prefectural police forces.
B.

National Police Organization

The National Public Safety Commission and the National Police Agency [hereinafter NPA] constituteJapan’s national police organization.
1.

The National Public Safety Commission

The National Public Safety Commission is an administrative board that exercises administrative
supervision over the NPA. The Commission is composed of a Chairman, who is a Minister of State, andfive members appointed by the Prime Minister to a five-year term with the consent of both houses of theDiet. While the Commission is under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister is not
empowered to exercise direct command and control over the Commission. The rationale for adopting sucha structure was to establish democratic administration of the police and to ensure its political neutrality.
The Commission formulates basic policies and regulations, co-ordinates police administration onmatters of national concern, and authorizes general standards for training, communication, forensics,
criminal statistics, and equipment.
The Commission appoints the Commissioner General of the NPA and senior officials of prefectural
police organizations, and indirectly supervises prefectural police organizations through the NPA.
2.

The National Police Agency

The NPA is headed by the Commissioner General, who is appointed by the National Public Safety
Commission with the approval of the Prime Minister. The Commissioner General, under the administrative
supervision of the Commission, administers the Agency’s operations and supervises and controls prefectural
police organizations within the agency’s defined duties. NPA duties include planning and research on
police systems; the national police budget; police communications; training; equipment; forensics; andcriminal statistics.
The National Police Academy, the National Research Institute of Police Science and the Imperial
Guard Headquarters are attached to the NPA. The National Police Academy holds training courses forsenior police officers. The National Research Institute of Police Science conducts a broad range of analysis,
identification and research work that requires specialized knowledge and skills in biology, medicine and-1-other disciplines. The Imperial Guard Headquarters provides escorts for the Imperial Family and is
responsible for the security of the Imperial Palace.
C.

Local Police Organization

The Prefectural Public Safety Commission and thePrefectural Police Headquarters constitute the local police
organization. Each of the 47 prefectures of Japan has one
Prefectural Public Safety Commission and one Prefectural
Police Headquarters.
1.

The Prefectural Public Safety Commission

The Prefectural Public Safety Commissions areunder the jurisdiction of elected prefectural Governors.
The Commissions have three to five members who areappointed by the Governors with the consent of theprefectural assemblies.
The Commissions exercise administrative supervision
over the prefectural police by formulating basic policies
and regulations for police operations. However, they
are not authorized to supervise individual investigationsor specific law enforcement activities of the prefectural
police.
2.

Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department

Prefectural Police Headquarters

Prefectural Police Headquarters take charge of executing the actual police duties of protecting life,
person, and property; preventing, suppressing, and investigating crimes; apprehending suspects; traffic
enforcement; and maintaining public safety and order. The Prefectural Police Headquarters for Tokyo iscalled the Metropolitan Police Department and is the largest such prefectural headquarters in Japan.
Police stations are under the command of their respective Prefectural Police Headquarters, and as of2010, there are 1,184 police stations nationwide. Koban (police boxes) and Chuzaisho (residential police
boxes) are subordinate units of police stations, and as of 2010, there are 6,232 Koban and 6,847 Chuzaishonationwide.
Police stations are under the command of their respective Prefectural Police Headquarters, and asof 2013, there are 1,173 police stations nationwide. Koban (police boxes) and Chuzaisho (residential
police boxes) are subordinate units of police stations, and as of 2013, there are 6,248 Koban and 6,614
Chuzaisho nationwide1.
II.

PROSECUTION

A.

Qualification

In Japan, judges, public prosecutors, and private attorneys have the same qualifications. To become
a qualified lawyer in Japan, in principle, applicants must pass the National Bar Examination, complete a
period of training, and pass the final national exam.
Previously, there were no eligibility requirements for the National Bar Examination, and the ratio of
successful candidates was approximately 2 to 3 percent. After passing the National Bar Examination,
candidates had to complete an 18-month apprenticeship at the Legal Training and Research Institutemanaged by the Supreme Court. At the end of the training period, legal apprentices had to pass a final
examination to qualify as legal practitioners.
1

The White Paper on Police 2013-2-

Recently, the system was changed as a part of extensive judicial reform in Japan. That reform
aimed to increase the number of legal practitioners to 50,000, one for every 2,400 citizens, by the end of

2018, compared with 21,000 in 2000. However the plan is currently being reconsiderd.

Under the new system, in order to become a qualified lawyer, candidates must first complete graduatelevel legal studies at an approved law school, and then pass the new National Bar Examination. The passrate for the new Examination is substantially higher than that of its predecessor. In 2013, 2,049 candidates
passed the Examination, and its pass rate was 26.8 percent. Following the Bar Exam, candidates musttake a one-year course as a legal apprentice at the Legal Training and Research Institute, and then pass
the final national exam. Law schools for graduate students were established from April 2004 and the new
National Bar Examination started in 2006.
Judges or public prosecutors who resign their positions can become private attorneys, and mostretirees from the judiciary and prosecution do in fact become private attorneys. Similarly, a private attorneyalso can become a judge or a public prosecutor. As of 2013, there were about 2,900 judges (including
assistant judges), 1,800 public prosecutors and 34,000 private attorneys in Japan.21

Ministry of Justice & Public Prosecutors OfficeB.

Organization

The Prosecutors Office consists of the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office (headed by the ProsecutorGeneral), eight High Public Prosecutors Offices (headed by a Superintending Prosecutor), 50 District Public
Prosecutors Offices (headed by a Chief Prosecutor) with 203 branches, and 438 Local Public Prosecutors
Offices. The different levels of public prosecutors offices correspond to comparable levels in the courts.
As of 2013, there were about 1,800 public prosecutors, about 900 assistant publicprosecutors, 3 and about 9,000 prosecutor’s assistant officers. Regarding the size of District Public
Prosecutors Offices, the average office has about ten public prosecutors. The smallest has only five
public prosecutors, and the largest has more than 200. Each office has a Chief and a Deputy Chief
Prosecutor who supervise investigation, prosecution and trial. Thus, for example, in the smallest office,
only three public prosecutors actually investigate and prosecute cases. In small offices, the publicprosecutor who investigates and indicts a suspect is the same person who handles the trial. In contrast, inlarge offices, two different public prosecutors carry out these duties, working either in theInvestigation Department (usually called the “Criminal Affairs Department”) or the Trial Department.

2
3

Ministry of Justice Statistics, 2013
Assistant public prosecutors are selected by a special examination different from the National Bar Examination. Most of them are former
prosector's assistant officers and court clerks. As a rule, they are assigned only to Local Public Prosecutors Offices.

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C.

Functions and Jurisdiction

Public prosecutors exercise such functions as investigation, instituting prosecution, requesting theproper application of law by courts, supervising the execution of judgments and other matters which fallunder their jurisdiction. When it is necessary for the purpose of investigation, they can carry out their duties
outside of their geographic jurisdiction.
D.

Status (Independence and Impartiality)

Public prosecutors have a status equivalent to that of judges in terms of qualifications and salary.
They are considered impartial representatives of the public interest, and their independence and impartiality
are protected by law. Aside from disciplinary proceedings, they cannot be dismissed from office, suspended
from the performance of their duties, or suffer a reduction in salary against their will, with limited
exceptions4.The Prosecutor-General, the Deputy Prosecutor-General and the Superintending Prosecutors
are appointed by the Cabinet, and other public prosecutors by the Minister of Justice. Their retirement age
is 63 (65 for the Prosecutor-General).
Prosecutorial functions are part of the executive power vested in the Cabinet,5 and the Cabinet is
responsible to the Diet in the exercise of its powers. As a member of the Cabinet, the Minister of Justice
should have the power to supervise public prosecutors. On the other hand, prosecutorial functions havea quasi-judicial nature, inevitably exerting an important influence on all sectors of the criminal justicesystem, including the judiciary and the police. If those functions were subject to political influence, theintegrity of the entire criminal justice system would be jeopardized. To harmonize these requirements, thePublic Prosecutors Office Law Article 14 provides that “[the] Minister of Justice may control and supervise
public prosecutors generally65 in regard to their functions. However, in regard to the investigation anddisposition of individual cases, he or she may control only the Prosecutor-General.” The Minister of Justicecannot directly control an individual public prosecutor’s investigation or disposition of cases.

Political independence and– the shipbuilding scandal caseauthorityofthepublicprosecutor(Feature)

In 1954, the Special Investigation Department of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s
Office, which had been investigating cases of corruption between the shipping andshipbuilding industries and key government figures, decided to arrest the Secretary-Generalof the Liberal Democratic Party (the ruling party at the time) on bribery charges. The Ministerof Justice, who also belonged to the ruling party, then exercised his authority and instructed
the Public Prosecutor General not to arrest the Secretary-General. As a result, the publicprosecutor in charge of the case declined to arrest the Secretary-General, and consequently it
led to the termination of the investigation. However the Minister’s exercise of his authority
caused public outrage when reported in the media, and the Minister was forced to resign.

4

Public Prosecutors Office Law, Article 25. Exceptions are stipulated in Articles 22 (retirement age), 23 (physical or mental disability, etc.), and 24(supernumerary officials).
The Cabinet consists of the Prime Minister and the Ministers of State. Not less than half of the Ministers must be chosen from the members of theDiet (Constitution, Article 66 and 68).
6
“Generally” means, for example, to set up general guidance for crime prevention, the administrative interpretation of laws and how to dispose of
affairs related to prosecution to maintain their uniformity
5

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III.

COURTS

A.

Structure

1.

Introduction

Article 76 of the Japanese Constitution vests all judicial power in the Supreme Court and inferior
courts. No tribunal, organ, or agency of the executive branch can be given final judicial power. All criminalcases are heard and determined in ordinary judicial tribunals. All courts in Japan are incorporated into a
unitary national judicial system. There are five types of courts: the Supreme Court, High Court, District
Court, Family Court and Summary Court. As of 2013 there were approximately 2,900 judges withinthese courts, including assistant judges, and there were about 800 Summary Court judges. Approximately
22,000 other officers work in the judiciary, including court clerks, stenographers, and bailiffs.
2.

The Supreme Court

The Supreme Court, located in Tokyo, is the highest court in Japan and consists of the Chief Justiceand fourteen Justices. The Supreme Court has one Grand Bench, consisting of all the Justices, and three
Petit Benches, each consisting of five Justices.
The Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over Jokoku (final appeals) and Kokoku (appeals
against rulings specially provided for in codes of procedures) as provided by law. See page 33 for themeaning of Jokoku, Kokoku, and Koso. It ordinarily hears a Jokoku appeal against a High Court decisionon the following grounds: (i) a violation of the Constitution or an error in constitutional interpretation, or(ii) adjudication contrary to precedents of the Supreme Court or High Courts. The Supreme Court
may also hear at its discretion Jokoku appeals against any case which involves an important point of
statutory interpretation.

Article 81 of the Constitution empowers the Supreme Court, as the court of last resort, to determine
the constitutionality of any law, order, rule or disposition. The Supreme Court exercises this power not bydeclaring constitutionality in a general way, but by rendering case-specific decisions.
3.

The High Court
The eight High Courts are located in eight major cities in Japan: Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Hiroshima,
Fukuoka, Sendai, Sapporo and Takamatsu. Each High Court consists of a President and other High Court
judges. High Courts have jurisdiction over Koso (appeals against judgment in the first instance rendered
by District Courts and Summary Courts) as provided by law. Ordinarily, High Court cases are heard by apanel of three judges. However, insurrection cases, over which the High Court has original jurisdiction, arehandled by a five-judge panel.

The Supreme Court Building

The Courtroom of the Grand Bench

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4.

The District Court

There are fifty District Courts, each located in the city seats of the respective prefectural governments.
Each District Court’s territorial jurisdiction encompasses the entire prefecture, except for Hokkaido, which
is divided into four judicial districts because of its large size. District Courts have a total of 203 branch
offices in major cities. District Courts have general jurisdiction over all cases in the first instance, except
for those cases exclusively reserved for Summary Courts (crimes liable to fines or lesser punishment)
and High Courts (crimes of insurrection). The majority of District Court cases are tried by a single judge.
However, criminal cases involving possible sentences of death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment for aminimum period of one year or more should be handled by a panel of three judges, in general. Other cases
deemed appropriate can also be handled by a three-judge panel. The former are called “statutory panel
cases” and the latter “discretionary panel cases.”
All District Courts and some of their branches hold Saiban-In trials (trials by a mixed panel consistingof professional judges and citizen judges) for certain offences designated by law. See page 29 for details
of Saiban-In trials.
5.

The Family Court

Family Courts and their branch offices are located in the same places as the District Courts and theirbranches. The Family Courts have jurisdiction over juvenile delinquency cases (involving persons under
20 years of age). Juvenile cases are handled by a single judge or a three-judge panel fully utilizing scientificreports prepared by Family Court probation officers and classification experts of juvenile classification
homes.
6.

The Summary Court

There are 438 Summary Courts throughout Japan. All cases are presided over by a single Summary
Court judge. The Summary Courts’ original jurisdiction is limited to: (i) crimes punishable with a fine orlighter penalties (petty fine or misdemeanour imprisonment without work); (ii) crimes punishable with afine as an optional penalty; and (iii) habitual gambling, running a gambling place for the purpose of gain,
embezzlement, and crimes related to stolen property. Summary Courts may not impose imprisonment
without work or heavier penalty. However, with regard to theft, embezzlement, crimes related to stolen
property, breaking into a residence, habitual gambling, and other minor offences prescribed by law, they
may impose imprisonment with work for up to three years. Summary Courts also issue Summary Ordersthat impose a sentence of fine. A vast majority of relatively minor cases are disposed of by Summary Order
Procedure. See page 24 for more details.
B.

Judges1.

Appointment of Judges

The Justices of the Supreme Court are appointed by the Cabinet, except for the Chief Justice, who
is appointed by the Emperor as designated by the Cabinet. The appointment of the Justices is reviewed
by the people at the first general election of members of the House of Representatives following their
appointment. Justices of the Supreme Court retire at the age of 70.
All lower court judges are appointed by the Cabinet from a list of persons nominated by the Supreme
Court. Judges’ tenure is ten years, and they can be re-appointed. Judges cannot be removed from office
unless judicially declared mentally or physically incompetent to perform their official duties, or unlesspublicly impeached. No executive organ or agency can take disciplinary action against judges. Thispower is vested only in the Court of Impeachment, a legislative body composed of Representatives andCouncillors drawn from the Diet. As one of the checks and balances systems among the three branchesof government, the Court of Impeachment may dismiss a judge if he or she neglects his or her duties to aremarkable degree, or if there has been misconduct, whether or not it relates to official duties.
2.

Categories and Qualifications of Judges

At least ten of the fifteen Justices of the Supreme Court, including the Chief Justice, must be appointed
from among those with distinguished careers as lower court judges, public prosecutors, practicing lawyers
or law professors. However, the remaining five Justices need not be qualified as lawyers, as long as they
are learned, have an extensive knowledge of the law, and are at least forty years of age.

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Lower court judges are divided into judges and assistant judges. Assistant judges are appointed fromamong those who have passed the National Bar Examination, completed training at the Legal Training andResearch Institute, and then passed the final qualifying national examination. To be appointed a judge, onemust have practical or academic experience of not less than ten years as a designated legal professional: an
assistant judge, a public prosecutor, an attorney, or a law professor.
The assistant judge system aims to provide professional experience through on-the-job training
before qualifying as a fully-fledged judge. For the first five years, the judicial authority of an assistantjudge is restricted. He or she can serve as an associate judge of a three-judge panel, but as a single judge,
can decide only limited matters such as detention at the investigation stage. After five years’ experience,an assistant judge is qualified as a senior assistant judge to preside over a trial in a single-judge court. The
majority of judges are appointed from among assistant judges. Judges assigned to the High Court must be
judges or qualified senior assistant judges.
Summary Court judges are selected by the Selection Board for Summary Court Judge. Fullqualification as a lawyer is not required. In practice, they are appointed primarily from among learned andexperienced court clerks. Assistant judges, after three years’ experience, can be appointed Summary Court
judges.
IV.

CORRECTIONSA.

Organization of the Correctional Administration

In Japan, the Correction Bureau of the Ministry of Justice provides both adult and juvenile correctional
services. Under the Director-General of the Correction Bureau, there are eight Regional Correction
Headquarters which supervise the correctional institutions. Correctional institutions can be divided into
penal institutions (prisons, juvenile prisons,7 and detention houses) and juvenile correctional institutions(juvenile training schools and juvenile classification homes).
1.

Penal Institutions

As of 2013, there were are a total of 188 penal institutions: 62 prisons, seven juvenile prisons,eight detention houses, eight branch prisons, and 103 branch detention houses.
Prisons, juvenile prisons, and branch prisons are institutions for sentenced inmates. They provide
various correctional treatment programmes that facilitate rehabilitation and resocialization of offenders.
There are eight women’s prisons (including two branches)8 and four medical prisons. The medical prisonsare set up to function as special medical centres that receive inmates in need of special medical care.
Ordinary medical care and hygiene for inmates are provided within general penal institutions.
Detention houses and branch detention houses are mainly for inmates awaiting trial, namely,
defendants under detention and suspects under pre-indictment detention. Close attention is paid so that
their rights, including the right to counsel and to a fair trial, are respected.
As of 31 December 2012, the total capacity of penal institutions was 90,681 (72,562 forsentenced inmates and 18,119 for unsentenced inmates), and the actual population w a s 67,008(58,726 sentenced inmates and 8,288 unsentenced inmates).

7

A juvenile prison is not a juvenile correctional institution. It accommodates juveniles sentenced to imprisonment and sentence d adult inmates under
26 years old.

8

One of which accommodates both female and male inmates.

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Fuchu Prison

2.

Tachikawa Detention House

Juvenile Correctional Institutions

As of 2013, there were 51 juvenile training schools, 50 juvenile classification homes, two branchjuvenile training schools, and one branch juvenile classification home. Juvenile training schools housejuveniles referred by the Family Court and provide them with correctional education. Juvenileclassification homes house juvenile delinquents placed under “protective detention” by the Family
Court. During protective detention, an expert report on the juvenile’s personality and disposition isprepared, which will assist the Family Court’s decision-making.

Osaka Juvenile Classification Home

B.

Kifunebara Juvenile Training School for Girls

Correctional Officials

As of 2013, more than 23,000 officials were working for the correction service. The majority
of correctional officials in penal institutions are employed from among those who have passed theexamination for correction service. Education officials in juvenile institutions are employed fromamong those who have passed a specialized examination. Classification specialists (psychologists) areselected from among those who have passed the senior-level examination for psychological services.
V.

REHABILITATIONA.

Organization and Function

The Rehabilitation Bureau of the Ministry of Justice is responsible for the overall administration ofrehabilitation services, the main aspect of which is to provide community-based treatment to offenders.
The Bureau handles planning and policy-making which are then implemented by the 50 Probation Offices
and eight Regional Parole Boards throughout the country.
There are eight Regional Parole Boards that coincide with the jurisdictions of the High Courts arelocated. The main responsibilities of Regional Parole Boards are to make parole decisions for prison
inmates and juveniles committed to juvenile training schools, and to revoke parole when the legal
requirements for revocation are met. They also decide when to terminate an indeterminate sentence
imposed upon a juvenile offender (see page 37). The number of board members varies in each region fromthree to fifteen, and board decisions are made by a majority vote.

-8-‘The front-line duties of community-based treatment are carried out by the Probation Offices,which are located in each of the 50 District and Family Court jurisdictions. Their main responsibilities
include the following: (i) supervision of both adult and juvenile probationers and parolees; (ii) coordination of social circumstances, such as family relationship, residence, and job-placement, prior torelease; (iii) urgent aftercare of discharged offenders; (iv) promotion of crime prevention activities in
the community; (v) recommendation of volunteer probation officers; (vi) support for the victims ofcrime; and (vii) mental health supervision pursuant to the Act on Medical Care and Treatment for
Persons Who Have Caused Serious Cases Under the Condition of Insanity.
The National Offenders Rehabilitation Commission is a council attached to the Ministry of Justice.
The Commission’s functions are to make recommendations to the Minister of Justice regarding pardonsand to review the decisions of Regional Parole Boards upon a complaint filed by a probationer or a parolee.
B.

Personnel

1.

Probation Officers

Probation officers are full-time government officials who engage in community-based treatment
of offenders, such as supervision of probationers and parolees, and other duties of the Regional Parole
Boards and Probation Offices. The Offenders Rehabilitation Act (2007) requires them to have a certain
degree of competence in medicine, psychology, pedagogy, sociology and other expert knowledge relating
to rehabilitation of offenders. As of 2013, there were 1,351 probation officers nationwide.
2.

Rehabilitation Co-ordinators

Rehabilitation co-ordinators are qualified psychiatric social workers, or other qualified persons,assigned to Probation Offices, who engage in mental health supervision and other responsibilities pursuant
to the Act on Medical Care and Treatment for Persons Who Have Caused Serious Cases Under the Conditionof Insanity. Rehabilitation co-ordinators do not handle ordinary probation or parole cases. As of 2013, there
are 177 rehabilitation co-ordinators nationwide.
C.

Volunteers and the Voluntary Sector

1.

Volunteer Probation Officers

Volunteer probation officers are citizens commissioned by the Minister of Justice who co-operatewith probation officers in providing various rehabilitation services to offenders. Their main activities are(i) to assist and supervise probationers and parolees; (ii) to co-ordinate the social circumstances of inmates;and (iii) to promote crime prevention activities in the community. They do not receive salaries: only acertain amount of their necessary expenses is reimbursed. As of 1 April 2013, 47,990 citizens wereserveing as Volunteer Probation Officers.

Ceremony for Volunteer Probation Officers

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2.

Juridical Persons for Offenders Rehabilitation Services

A Juridical Person for Offender Rehabilitation Services is a form of non-profit organization establishedunder the Offenders Rehabilitation Services Act (1995). They undertake one or more of the following
activities: (i) operate Offender Rehabilitation Facilities (so-called halfway houses); (ii) provide temporary
aid to offenders; and (iii) engage in “co-ordination and promotion services” related to rehabilitation of
offenders. As of 2013, there were 165 Juridical Persons for Offender Rehabilitation Services.
(1)

Offenders Rehabilitation Facilities (Halfway House)
Halfway houses in Japan are officially termed Offenders Rehabilitation Facilities. They accommodate
probationers, parolees, or other eligible offenders and provide them with necessary assistance for theirrehabilitation such as: (i) help in obtaining education, training, medical care, or employment; (ii) vocational
guidance; (iii) training in social skills; and (iv) improving, or helping them adjust to, their environment.
There are 103 Offenders Rehabilitation Facilities nationwide. As of 2012, their total capacity
was 2,340 and 6,380 offenders were admitted. The duration of stay for probationers and parolees in 2012
was as follows: one month or less (9.4%); more than one month to six months (83.0%); and more than six
months (7.6%).
One hundred (100) of the Offender Rehabilitation Facilities are run by Juridical Persons for
Offender Rehabilitation Services. The government supervises and provides financial support to such
Juridical Persons and other entities that operate Offenders Rehabilitation Facilities.

Offenders Rehabilitation Facility (Halfway House)(2)

Rehabilitation Aid Association
As of 2013, 66 Rehabilitation Aid Associations exist throughout Japan. They provide offenders
with temporary aid such as meals or clothing, and/or engage in “co-ordination and promotion services”
for Offender Rehabilitation Facilities, Volunteer Probation Officer Associations, and other volunteer
organizations. “Co-ordination and promotion services” include providing subsidies, textbooks for training,
and tools and materials for crime prevention activities.
3.

OthersThere are other notable volunteer organizations or forms of volunteering in Japan, such as (i) the
Women’s Association for Rehabilitation Aid; (ii) Big Brothers and Sisters (BBS) Associations; and (iii)
co-operative employers.

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