Japan Panel to Consider Victims’ Involvement in Criminal Proceedings

Tokyo, June 15 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi on Monday asked an advisory panel to consider ways to expand the involvement of crime victims and bereaved families in criminal proceedings. The Legislative Council will discuss whether to allow such people to attend pretrial procedures to clarify issues and establish a trial plan. It will also consider the need to revise relevant legislation. There is no legal provision allowing victims to participate in or observe pretrial procedures involving the court, prosecutors and defense lawyers. If victims wish to participate, prosecutors consider the reasons behind the request and the existence and extent of any potential drawbacks of their participation, before conveying the request to the court. Such requests are said to be rarely approved. Crime victims have expressed a desire to know what is being done before the trial. While some expect that the participation of victims would facilitate communication with prosecutors, others claim that the participation could make it difficult to exchange opinions frankly and that may lead to ambiguity in identifying key issues. The council will also discuss expanding the scope of crimes covered by the existing victim participation system, which allows victims, bereaved families, and their legal representatives to appear in court to express their opinions and question defendants. Currently, this system covers “crimes that infringe upon life, body, or freedom of a person, thereby undermining the foundation of personal dignity.” Specifically, under the Code of Criminal Procedure, these include murder, bodily injury, nonconsensual indecency or sexual intercourse, and negligent driving resulting in death or injury. There have been calls to expand the scope to cover violations of the stalker regulation law, unlawful entry into a residence and other crimes. The council will also discuss how to allow the observation of trials and hearings in a way that takes into consideration the privacy of victims and how to respond after receiving complaints or accusations. In the fifth basic plan for crime victims, approved by the cabinet in March, the government stated that it would consider from various perspectives expanding opportunities for victims to participate in criminal proceedings as parties to cases. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]