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The interrogation period is 23 days. The conviction rate after interrogation is 99.98%. It's not a made-up number: Only 15 people walked away free in 2015 after

by tajen 9y ago

The interrogation period is 23 days. The conviction rate after interrogation is 99.98%. It's not a made-up number: Only 15 people walked away free in 2015 after interrogation. Assuming that the police arrests the correct persons with 99.98% accuracy would be immensely harmful for democracy – Please lookup for testimonies if those 2 figures didn't already make you doubt about Japan's police system.

glandium 9y ago
Do you have sources for that? http://hakusyo1.moj.go.jp/en/64/nfm/n_64_2_2_2_2_0.html#table_2_2_2_3 http://hakusyo1.moj.go.jp/en/64/nfm/n_64_2_2_2_2_0.html#tabl... has some data about the number of cases that are prosecuted and that's way lower than 99.98%, but that's not limited to people interrogated. But indeed, if you look at the data for cases that go to court, the conviction rate is high. http://hakusyo1.moj.go.jp/en/64/nfm/n_64_2_2_3_1_0.html http://hakusyo1.moj.go.jp/en/64/nfm/n_64_2_2_3_1_0.html But that was my point in GP.
jpatokal 9y ago
That's the conviction rate after going to trial. Prosecutors can and do drop charges if they don't think they have enough evidence to convict, and the police are also reluctant to record crimes they don't think they can solve.
mcguire 9y ago
Couple a strangely high conviction rate with a weirdly low crime rate, and you have reason to think something is off about the country's justice system.
- paulmd 9y ago
  I would assume that such figures studiously ignore criminal syndicates like the Yakuza. With apologies to Terry Pratchett: Japan's philosophy is that if you're going to have crime, at least it should be organized crime. My fiance did a high-school exchange in Japan and mentioned that people with tattoos weren't welcome at onsen because that usually means Yakuza in Japan, and businesses want to steer clear of all of that. If businesses are making rules like that, it's pretty clearly a non-trivial issue.
  - mcguire 9y ago
    That's probably true, too. The other comment I posted had a link describing a sumo wrestler who was found with cuts and injuries reflecting a serious beating. The cause of death was "heart disease". That may or may not be related to previous cases I've heard of in the sumo world, which seems to have links to organized crime.

by tajen 9y ago

glandium 9y ago

Do you have sources for that? http://hakusyo1.moj.go.jp/en/64/nfm/n_64_2_2_2_2_0.html#table_2_2_2_3 http://hakusyo1.moj.go.jp/en/64/nfm/n_64_2_2_2_2_0.html#tabl... has some data about the number of cases that are prosecuted and that's way lower than 99.98%, but that's not limited to people interrogated. But indeed, if you look at the data for cases that go to court, the conviction rate is high. http://hakusyo1.moj.go.jp/en/64/nfm/n_64_2_2_3_1_0.html http://hakusyo1.moj.go.jp/en/64/nfm/n_64_2_2_3_1_0.html But that was my point in GP.

jpatokal 9y ago

That's the conviction rate after going to trial. Prosecutors can and do drop charges if they don't think they have enough evidence to convict, and the police are also reluctant to record crimes they don't think they can solve.

mcguire 9y ago

Couple a strangely high conviction rate with a weirdly low crime rate, and you have reason to think something is off about the country's justice system.

paulmd 9y ago
I would assume that such figures studiously ignore criminal syndicates like the Yakuza. With apologies to Terry Pratchett: Japan's philosophy is that if you're going to have crime, at least it should be organized crime. My fiance did a high-school exchange in Japan and mentioned that people with tattoos weren't welcome at onsen because that usually means Yakuza in Japan, and businesses want to steer clear of all of that. If businesses are making rules like that, it's pretty clearly a non-trivial issue.
- mcguire 9y ago
  That's probably true, too. The other comment I posted had a link describing a sumo wrestler who was found with cuts and injuries reflecting a serious beating. The cause of death was "heart disease". That may or may not be related to previous cases I've heard of in the sumo world, which seems to have links to organized crime.