Link: Japan preps its citizens for a new role: jurors | csmonitor.com.
The reforms are part of an effort to increase transparency and efficiency within the justice system, which now convicts more than 99 percent of those who face trial. The US conviction rate, by comparison, is 89 percent. "I think there's been a recognition in Japan that the current system … not only may be producing wrongful convictions, but that it's cumbersome, in the sense that lots of trials under the current system last for years," says Robert Precht, a defense lawyer and co-director of the Juries and Democracy Program at the Maureen & Mike Mansfield Center at the University of Montana. Mr. Precht informally advises Japanese defense lawyers and judges on Western courtroom conventions. Japanese policymakers say one goal of the reforms will be to wrap up trials in a few days or weeks. While some Japanese analysts credit the country's near-perfect conviction rate to court officials' practice of only prosecuting cases that have compelling evidence, Precht says many Japanese legal authorities say that their conviction rate is too high. "Japanese regard the government as okami," says Precht. "They're 'higher-ups', and [Japanese] don't question them. To Japan's credit, the authorities realize that's not always a healthy attitude. Citizens need to be involved in observing how the government works."
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