Sentencing in Japan

Most criminal laws in Japan are national in scope. Prosecutors enforce them with discretion, which they tend to exercise cautiously by charging cases only if they are all but certain to end in conviction. One result is a high conviction rate. By screening out cases that stand even a small chance of acquittal, this cautious approach limits the role that courts and defense lawyers play in the criminal process. Cases are tried before a single judge, a bench of three judges, or a lay judge panel consisting of three judges and six citizens. There are no formal sentencing guidelines, but well-established norms reflect a commitment to consistency. Recent reforms have given victims greater prominence in the sentencing process. Japan’s sentencing system recognizes the limited capacity of the criminal sanction to do good, but it also can be severe, with a harsh pretrial process. Death sentences, executions, and wrongful convictions also continue to occur on a regular basis. Scholarship about Japanese criminal justice sometimes characterizes the system as lenient and benevolent. There is truth in this, but because the country has little serious crime, the sentencing system may appear more lenient than it really is.