Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi received the proposal from a government-appointed panel, his office said Wednesday. The 13-member panel recommended allowing citizens to join judges in the process of making rulings on criminal trials, although adding that participation should be limited to serious cases such as murder. The number of jurors and how they would be chosen from among citizens was to be worked out later. The government plans to enact all judicial reforms within three years. The proposals, handed to Koizumi on Tuesday, were drawn up in response to calls that Japanese courts should be more accessible to the public.
Japanese trials can drag on for years, with court sessions held at the rate of about once a month.
Ninety-nine percent of criminal cases brought to trial conclude in conviction, and prosecutors have the right to appeal cases that go against them. E-mail this story to a friend.