Panelists at a symposium this week in Tokyo voiced concerns over the government's proposal to revise the Juvenile Law to allow crime victims or their next of kin to observe minors' trials, which are basically held behind closed doors.
Diet debate on the proposal is expected soon, but experts on juvenile delinquency said such a revision would not contribute to promoting the sound rehabilitation of delinquents, as the current law advocates.
"The Juvenile Law has essentially required only those who work for the common purpose — rehabilitation of minors — to attend juvenile trials," Hiroko Goto, a law professor at Chiba University, told the symposium Tuesday. "But if the revision bill is enacted, it will lead to the inclusion of those who are not cooperative toward that purpose."