Tag - japanese-courts

 
 

JAPANESE COURTS

A bill on joint custody passes during a Lower House plenary session in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 16, 2024
Bill allowing joint custody after divorce clears Japan's Lower House
The move would bring Japan closer to adopting a practice seen in other countries.
Two plaintiffs filed a lawsuit with Osaka District Court in hopes of sparking a wider discussion on the rights of death row prisoners.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 15, 2024
Death-row inmates' lawsuit targeting same-day notifications of executions dismissed
The judge said the plaintiffs' social standing — being death row inmates — doesn't allow them to avoid execution when they are notified.
A demonstration in front of a Nagoya court in 2020 before the appeal trial for a father accused of sexually assaulting his 19-year-old daughter. Sexual violence remains a widespread problem in Japan and one affecting many young victims.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 10, 2024
Landmark sexual violence survey reveals shocking data
Sexual violence remains a huge problem in Japan. Despite recent legal reforms, much more needs to be done to prevent crimes and protect victims.
The plaintiff argued that age and other specific restrictions for men for survivors' pensions violates the constitution.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 10, 2024
Lawsuit filed over gender gap in survivor's pension conditions
The plaintiff was rejected for the survivor pension due to being 49 years old at the time of his wife's death.
Lawyers representing families of former leprosy patients seeking damages from the state hold up signs in front of the Kumamoto District Court in June 2019 after winning the case.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 5, 2024
35% in Japan prejudiced against ex-leprosy patients: survey
The health ministry will consider necessary measures given the survey results.
Kiichi Okaguchi (right) walks to the parliament's Judge Impeachment Court in Tokyo in December.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 3, 2024
Impeachment court dismisses Japanese judge over social media posts
Kiichi Okaguchi has become the eighth judge dismissed in an impeachment trial in postwar Japan.
Residents of Fukui Prefecture who filed petitions to suspend aging nuclear reactors at two Kansai Electric Power plants in the prefecture hold up signs in front of the Fukui District Court in Fukui on Friday, criticizing the court's decision to reject the decisions as "unjust."
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 29, 2024
Court rejects petitions to halt aging Kansai electric reactors
Plaintiffs claimed that the design basis earthquake ground motions for the plants are unreasonably low, given past past earthquakes observed in Japan.
Hitoshi Matsumoto
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 28, 2024
Comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto's defamation trial kicks off
Identities of two women accusing the comedian of forcing them into having sex, as reported by Shukan Bunshun, becomes the focus on Day 1.
The Tokyo District Court on Tuesday sentenced a former teacher at a Tokyo cram school to two years in prison, suspended for five years, for secretly filming the girls attending the school.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 27, 2024
Ex-teacher at Tokyo cram school found guilty of secret filming
The teacher also sent some of the images to another former teacher from the same cram school, and posted the pictures on an online chat forum.
The head of the Unification Church's Japan branch has been fined for the group's refusal to answer some questions sent by the culture ministry.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 26, 2024
Unification Church fined for not answering government questions
The Tokyo District Court ordered the group to pay a fine of ¥100,000 for its refusal to answer some questions put to it by the culture ministry.
Plaintiffs and their lawyers on survivors benefits for same-sex partners smile after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of them on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 26, 2024
Same-sex partners should get spousal survivor benefits, Supreme Court rules
It is the first time the Supreme Court has reached a judgment on survivors benefits for crime victims who have same-sex partners.
Eri Nakaya, one of the plaintiffs who have appealed a high court ruling on same-sex marriage, speaks to reporters in Sapporo on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 25, 2024
Same-sex couples appeal Sapporo court ruling rejecting compensation
The court upheld a verdict that said nonrecognition of same-sex marriage is unconstitutional but rejected a claim for damages totaling ¥6 million.
Lawyers representing plaintiffs in lawsuits seeking damages for Minamata disease hold banners outside the Kumamoto District Court in the city of Kumamoto on Friday, criticizing the ruling as “unjust.”
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 22, 2024
Japan court rejects redress claims by unrecognized Minamata victims
Across Japan, nearly 1,800 individuals have filed similar lawsuits, with 1,400 cases consolidated in the Kumamoto district court.
Shizuo Aishima's son speaks to reporters next to a photo of his father in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 21, 2024
Ohkawara execs to file criminal complaint against Tokyo police
The complainant's lawyer said that the execs hope to kick-start an internal investigation into the department’s misconduct.
Masaaki Okawara (center) and other plaintiffs celebrate in December after the Tokyo District Court ruled that police and prosecutors had falsely accused them of illegally exporting spray dryers. But the civil suit continues as both sides have appealed the ruling.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Mar 19, 2024
Japan's 'hostage justice system' faces renewed scrutiny
The long-criticized system has come under the spotlight as executives wrongly accused of a crime continue their legal battle.
People who sought an injunction to halt the No. 3 unit of Kansai Electric Power's Mihama power plant in Fukui Prefecture hold up signs about the Osaka High Court's ruling in Osaka on Friday.
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2024
Japan court allows aging Fukui nuclear reactor to continue operations
The reactor became the first of its kind to operate beyond 40 years under new rules that allowed for service extensions of up to 20 years.
Plaintiffs of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a ban on same-sex marriage and their supporters hold a banner calling for authorities to allow such unions in front of the Tokyo District Court on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 14, 2024
Ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, Sapporo High Court rules
This is the first such ruling by a high court in Japan in favor of plaintiffs challenging the ban.
YouTuber and former Upper House member GaaSyy after his release on bail in September
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 14, 2024
YouTuber GaaSyy given suspended prison term for defaming celebrities
GaaSyy's acts seriously threatened the victims, the presiding judge said, causing them “enormous financial damage” through online hate.
Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Mito Kakizawa was sentenced Thursday to two years in prison, suspended for five years, for an illegal campaign finance offense related to a Tokyo ward election in April last year.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 14, 2024
Ex-senior vice justice minister Mito Kakizawa found guilty of vote buying
"His criminal acts were malicious crimes and shook the people's confidence in the fairness of elections, which is the basis of democracy," the judge said.
A court sketch shows Satoru Nomura, head of the Kudokai crime syndicate (center), and Fumio Tanoue, the group's second-in-command (right), during their sentencing at the Fukuoka High Court on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 12, 2024
Death sentence overturned for Kudokai gang boss
The criminal mastermind remained expressionless and stared directly at the judge as it was announced that the death sentence had been overturned.

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