Japan Govt to Delay Submission of Retrial System Reform Bill

Tokyo, April 9 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government is set to delay the submission to the Diet, or parliament, scheduled this week of a bill aimed at amending the country’s retrial system. The decision on the postponement was conveyed to the ruling and opposition sides Thursday. The move came as the government sees the need to take more time for coordination. The bill to revise the criminal procedure law continues to allow public prosecutors to appeal against court decisions to reopen finalized trials. In response to criticisms of the system, the government is considering modifying the bill by setting a certain limit on prosecutors’ appeals. But opposition remains strong, even within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Some in the LDP are calling for banning prosecutors from challenging courts’ retrial decisions. During the LDP’s prior screening of the bill, many slammed the system of allowing prosecutors to appeal against retrial orders, arguing that it could hinder relief for the victims of false charges. In contrast, the Justice Ministry, which drafted the bill, counters by saying that it is unreasonable for a single lower-court decision to overturn a ruling finalized under the country’s three-tier trial system. But the ministry’s claim has failed to draw widespread support. At Thursday’s executive board meetings of the steering committees of both Diet chambers, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries Kei Sato and Masanao Ozaki explained the current situation regarding the bill. “As various opinions were presented in the LDP’s internal review procedures, further coordination will be required,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a press conference the same day. “We will continue preparations to submit the bill as soon as possible during the current Diet session,” the top government spokesman added. The Justice Ministry initially aimed to obtain cabinet approval for the bill Tuesday, ahead of the perceived deadline on Friday for its submission to the Diet. But it gave up the plan in the face of strong opposition from the LDP. The ruling and opposition camps have agreed to handle the criminal procedure law amendment as an important bill requiring extensive debates with the participation of the prime minister in related committee and plenary meetings of both chambers of the Diet. Typically designated as such bills are those that are believed to have a significant impact on the public and therefore require particularly careful discussions. It is rare that such a bill would be submitted behind schedule. Other contentious issues in the amendment is a proposal to introduce a system to screen retrial petitions before the start of full-fledged court procedures for deciding whether to reopen trials. Concerns are strong over the prior screening system, with opponents citing a possible increase in the number of petitions that would be dismissed. Opposition also persists over the proposals to limit the scope of evidence disclosure by investigative authorities during retrial proceedings, impose penalties for the use of disclosed evidence for improper purposes, such as sharing it with retrial supporters or the news media, and remove judges who ordered retrials from subsequent court proceedings. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]