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December 22, 2024
 

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JUSTICE MINISTRY

Critics have said that drivers who were speeding well over the speed limit or those who were extremely drunk were not indicted for dangerous driving because of its vague definition.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / EXPLAINER
Dec 6, 2024
What constitutes fatal dangerous driving in Japan?
Critics say its vague definition has often led prosecutors to indict offenders with less-serious charges of fatal negligent driving instead.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi comments on use of the death penalty at a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office on Nov. 14.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 27, 2024
Two years pass since Japan's last execution, amid calls for abolition
Between 2012 and 2021, the average period from the finalization of a death sentence to its execution was about seven years and nine months.
The sought ¥21.3 billion will be used for making the revised family register law widely known to the public and setting up call centers to receive questions from the public.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 27, 2024
¥21.3 billion sought to help with adding phonetic readings in family registers
The planned funds will be used for making the revision widely known to the public and setting up call centers to receive questions from the public.
Since inmates with mental disabilities often repeat similar offenses after a short period of time — partly due to a lack of necessary support — increased help from staffers with specialized knowledge is becoming crucial.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 18, 2024
Ministry ramps up support for prisoners with mental disabilities in Japan
One of the main targets is to reduce the recidivism rate, which tends to be higher for prisoners with mental and developmental disabilities.
Vietnamese technical interns work at a food processing factory in Saitama Prefecture.
JAPAN
Nov 1, 2024
Criteria revealed for technical interns in Japan looking to change jobs
Applicants can select from a wide range of specific "unavoidable" situations, such as being the victim of harassment, set out in a list attached to the application form.
Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Oct. 7. The number of Japanese nationals who traveled abroad in the first half of this year totaled 5.8 million, a 60.4% increase from the same period in 2023.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 18, 2024
Mid- to long-term foreign residents in Japan hit record high
A total of 3.31 million foreign nationals were residing in the country for three months or longer as of the end of June, up 5.8% from the end of 2023.
Experts of a Justice Ministry panel hold a meeting in Tokyo in June to discuss revision of the probation officer system.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 16, 2024
Justice Ministry to consider public recruitment of volunteer probation officers
The officers regularly meet with individuals released from prison, including those on parole, offering guidance on life and employment support.
Justice Minister Hideki Makihara speaks during a joint interview with media outlets at his office in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 11, 2024
Justice minister says he has severed all ties with Unification Church
Hideki Makihara has promised to follow the Liberal Democratic Party’s commitment on ceasing ties with the group moving forward.
Hideki Makihara enters the Prime Minister's Office on Oct. 3 before being appointed as justice minister.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 9, 2024
Japan's new justice minister admits ties with Unification Church
Such ties between Makihara and the controversial religious group had not been confirmed in a survey by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in 2022.
Japan's new justice minister Hideki Makihara says abolishing the death penalty would be "inappropriate."
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 3, 2024
New justice minister says scrapping death penalty 'inappropriate'
Capital punishment has strong public support in Japan, where scrapping it is rarely discussed.
Justice Minister Ryuji Koizumi speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Friday. Koizumi stressed that the granting of the special residency permits to children subjected to deportation orders was a one-time measure.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 27, 2024
Japan fine-tunes issuance of humanitarian visas
The move comes amid a near-tripling of technical intern trainees from Myanmar going missing from their programs in 2023.
Iwao Hakamata in March 2023 in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture. Hakamata was convicted in 1968 over the fatal stabbings of a couple and their children two years earlier. He has pleaded his innocence throughout his trial, maintaining that his confession was coerced.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 25, 2024
In Japan, the road to exoneration takes decades
Defense lawyers’ extremely limited access to evidence and prosecutors’ right to appeal a court order for a retrial result in a long, drawn-out process.
The Justice Ministry said there are now over 250,000 specified skilled foreign workers.
JAPAN
Sep 24, 2024
Number of specified skilled visa holders in Japan surpasses 250,000
The government is aiming to attract 820,000 foreign workers under the specified skilled worker program over a five-year period through April 2029.
Therapy dogs are brought in for correctional education at the Kakogawa Gakuen juvenile correctional facility in Hyogo Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Sep 3, 2024
Novel dog training program aids rehab at juvenile correctional facility
An official involved in the program highlighted its importance, saying, 'Interaction with animals plays a valuable role in the rehabilitation of juveniles.'
Ukrainian Minister of Justice Denys Maliuska (center left) and Justice Minister Ryuji Koizumi (center right) sign a memorandum of cooperation on judicial reforms and anti-corruption measures, in Kyiv on Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2024
Japan and Ukraine agree to cooperate on anti-corruption measures
The countries' two justice ministries will cooperate across fields such as judicial reform and the strengthening of judicial institutions via personnel training.
Justice Minister Ryuji Koizumi meets with victims of forced sterilization at the ministry in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 2, 2024
Victims of forced sterilization seek ¥15 million in compensation
Under a now-defunct eugenics law, the government allowed doctors to perform nonconsensual sterilization surgery and abortion on those with disabilities.
A vehicle carrying Kohei Iitsuka, suspected of killing his probation officer, leaves the Otsu Kita Police Station in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, on June 10.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 26, 2024
Justice Ministry to assign multiple volunteer probation officers to watch over offenders
Previously in Japan, one volunteer probation officer was assigned to watch over one individual, except in rare cases.
A new rule of having prison officers use honorifics when addressing inmates sparked apprehension when it was introduced in April. Three months later, a prison officer said the rule helps avoid situations where older inmates might not feel comfortable being called by their names without honorifics by officers fresh out of school.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 15, 2024
Prison officers and inmates warm up to rule on use of honorifics
Since April, a new rule requires prison officers to use the honorifics san and kun when addressing inmates by their last names.
The Justice Ministry is considering helping Ukraine improve laws and regulations.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 14, 2024
Japan to help Ukraine improve laws to support reconstruction
The move is intended to support Ukraine's negotiations for EU membership and create an environment good for Japanese companies to enter the Ukrainian market.
A meeting on judicial issues facing Pacific island countries was held in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2024
Japan to help Pacific island nations promote rule of law
The ministry has been supporting Southeast Asian countries in improving their judicial systems since the 1990s.
Freed anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson arrives in France
U.S.-Canadian anti-whaling environmental activist Paul Watson, who was released from prison in Greenland's capital Nuuk after five months in detention, arrives with Lamya Essemlali, president of Sea Shepherd France, at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Roissy-en-France, near Paris, on Friday.
Nippon Steel alleges undue White House influence on doomed deal review
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Dec. 10.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
Police raided suspect's home to arrest him after fatal Kitakyushu stabbing
Broken window glass is seen at Masanori Hirabaru's house in Kitakyushu's Kokuraminami Ward.
Taiwan lawmakers brawl over bills that would 'damage democracy'
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party and opposition party Kuomintang brawl in parliament in Taipei on Friday.
Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem
A group of elephant keepers in Chiang Saen, Thailand, remove plastic waste from the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong River, as a pair of Asian elephants bathe behind them.
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.

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