A group of nonpartisan lawmakers gathered Thursday, the first day of the new lay judge system, to call for a moratorium on the new criminal trial system that every political party voted unanimously to institute five years ago.

Under the new "saibanin" system, six civilians selected at random will join three professional judges in deliberating heinous crime cases, such as murder and rape, and hand down sentences. Among the possible sentences the jurors must choose from if a defendant is found guilty is the death penalty.

The saibanin system "includes the handing down of the death penalty and I have doubts about the constitutionality of a system that forces people against their conscience to hand down a sentence that robs a person of his life," said Democratic Party of Japan legislator Kazuhiro Haraguchi.