A note from the KI Difficult Stuff We’re Glad We Don’t Have to Decide by Ourselves Desk (merged with the Laziness Desk due to budget cuts): Japanese treatment of those suspected of a crime but not yet charged nor under trial has received much attention as former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn is investigated for alleged financial irregularities.
Japanese law sets detention limits for a suspect of 23 days. However, authorities can add further charges with fresh warrants, meaning a person can be detained indefinitely if a court approves it, which they usually do, so prosecutors string out charges one by one. This means that most arrested in Japan are incarcerated until their trial (a period during which stress has likely led to a guilty plea).
Kumanichi reports that Kumamoto has in the past few years quite diverged from national trends as local courts are more willing to allow those under charge to be released from detention while awaiting trial. The article notes that this trend has not been without harm - some released have committed further crimes while awaiting trial. The counter argument is how many innocent languish in jail while awaiting trial (and, this being Japan, is invariably a long time).
This article contains much interesting vocabulary, so fire up your Google Translate and Weblio. The blue line on the graph represents an all-Japan average of those released from jail while under investigation, and the yellow that of Kumamoto. And, as much as we all hate the uber-rich, give a thought to Gohsn. What if he’s innocent? - William
