Japan is set to introduce a new criminal trial system by the end of this decade, in which professional and lay judges will deal with major cases on an equal footing. A judicial reform bill calling for the creation of the saiban-in (citizen judge) system passed the Upper House last week, making it certain that the new trial system will go into effect around 2009 following a get-acquainted period of up to five years.
The nation has a history of jury trials. For a quarter century before the end of World War II, from 1928 to 1943, a jury system based on the Anglo-American model was used in criminal trials. The underlying reason for its abolition must have been the failure of democracy in a country in the grip of surging militarism.
Under the saiban-in system, which is said to be similar to the French and German system of "trial by consultation," judges and citizens will work together in deciding major felony cases, such as those involving murder.