Japan Ruling Parties OK Retrial System Reform Bill

Tokyo, May 13 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Wednesday approved a government-drafted bill to basically bar prosecutors from appealing court orders granting retrials. The LDP gave the approval at a joint meeting of its Judicial Affairs Division and Research Commission on the Judiciary System. Its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, also approved the bill at a party meeting on the day. The government now plans to adopt the bill at a cabinet meeting on Friday and submit it during the ongoing Diet session. The Justice Ministry presented the final draft of the bill after three revisions. “It became a good bill as a result of various discussions,” former Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki, who chairs the LDP judiciary system commission, told reporters after Wednesday’s meeting. “We’ll do all we can to gain the understanding of opposition parties.” The bill would remove a clause in the current Code of Criminal Procedure that allows prosecutors to appeal retrial orders and would include a new clause that bans appeals unless there is sufficient evidence. Prosecutors would be required to disclose their reasons for appealing retrial orders. Last week, the ministry presented the LDP with a draft that included a ban on appeals in a supplementary provision instead of the main text. The party stopped short of approving the draft, as party lawmakers demanded that the ban be included in the main text. At Wednesday’s meeting, questions were still raised about whether the planned new clause could prevent prosecutors from appealing retrial orders haphazardly. At a press conference, former education minister Masahiko Shibayama, who had advocated a full ban on appeals, said, “We decided to advance (the bill) to the next procedure, believing that it’s better to take even a half step forward.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]