Hostage Justice and Wrongful Convictions in Japan

Abstract

Few people convicted of crime have been exonerated in Japan, leading some commentators to claim that the country does not have a problem with wrongful convictions. But this view is mistaken. Japan’s wrongful conviction problem is probably much larger than it appears. Criminal suspects in Japan have a duty to receive interrogation even after they have invoked their right to silence, leading to long and intense questioning that can overbear their will. On average, interrogations in Japan last 30 to 50 times longer than interrogations in the USA. Japan also detains many suspects who do not confess, and restricts their meetings with family and friends, thereby raising the risk of false confession and wrongful conviction. This system of Hostage Justice is enabled by Japanese law and by Japanese courts especially. Japan needs to tame its interrogation practices, which will continue to produce high risks of false confession until its judiciary acknowledges that it is dangerous to permit police and prosecutors to question suspects for dozens or hundreds of hours.