As far as civic duties go, most Japanese would probably say voting is the most serious. But last month, a contender emerged with the first trial under the lay judge system.
Last November, the Supreme Court notified some 295,000 randomly chosen voters that they might be called upon to participate in the judicial system as lay judges by the end of this year.
Three of them told The Japan Times that they observed the first two lay judge court sessions in August with great interest and anxiety, but found that watching the new system in action helped alleviate some of their concerns.