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The killer turned himself in to police. You see this in old Yakuza movies, the perpetrator will stand and wait for police after the killing (for example, "Pale

The killer turned himself in to police. You see this in old Yakuza movies, the perpetrator will stand and wait for police after the killing (for example, "Pale Flower"). Japan has very little crime and a 98% conviction rate, it's so civilized. > a very pale and thin man with glasses parked his bicycle and walked into a police station in Fukuoka City’s Higashi ward carrying a large bag. He told the police there, “I’ve killed a man.”

derefr 8y ago
> a 98% conviction rate Quoting wikipedia: > In Japan, the criminal justice system has a conviction rate that exceeds 99% (Note that it includes guilty plea cases.), which has been attributed to low prosecutorial budgets impelling understaffed prosecutors to present judges with only the most obviously guilty defendants. This has ripples all the way back through the Japanese criminal-justice system. The police don't bother to even investigate crimes with merely circumstantial evidence, because such cases are unlikely to be prosecuted. So nobody bothers to even report such crimes, and so they're far easier to get away with and more prevalent. I wouldn't describe such an environment as particularly "civilized."
- ALittleLight 8y ago
  For context, also from Wikipedia >For 2012, the US Department of Justice reported a 93% conviction rate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conviction_rate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conviction_rate I agree the high rate is troubling. We'd need to find a good middle ground. Too low and it suggests prosecutors are bringing spurious cases. Too high and it means difficult cases are likely getting dropped or the process is just for show.
- mehblahwhatevs 8y ago
  Agreed. Similarly I've heard that police will often juke the stats, labeling deaths that are circumstantial as suicides so as not to investigate or try to get a guilty? Or that once you're arrested rights are questionable when it comes to interrogation techniques and due process.
- janekm 8y ago
  It's not just Japan though. In the US, apparently, 97% of federal convictions are the result of guilty pleas, and there is evidence that in many cases the plea is entered due to the defendant dealing they don't have the resources to defend themselves: https://theoutline.com/post/2066/most-criminal-cases-end-in-plea-bargains-not-trials https://theoutline.com/post/2066/most-criminal-cases-end-in-...
  - emodendroket 8y ago
    Yes, but, to our shame, the US is also recognized as a horrifying outlier and imprisons a greater portion of its population than any other country on Earth. According to this Washington Post article, 5% of the world's people are Americans, but one-quarter of the world's prisoners are American: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/07/07/yes-u-s-locks-people-up-at-a-higher-rate-than-any-other-country/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/07/...
- ceejayoz 8y ago
  Don't forget this bit, either: > Many Western human rights organizations alleged that the high conviction rate is due to rampant use of conviction solely based on confession. Confessions are often obtained after long periods of questioning by police as those arrested may be held for up to 23 days. This can, at times, take weeks during which time the suspect is in detention and can be prevented from contacting a lawyer or family.
- doall 8y ago
  >So nobody bothers to even report such crimes As a person who knows Japan quite well, this is not true. Even a very light case like seeing a stranger near a house, Japanese people will often call the police or go to a koban and request for help. In such case, a police officer will come to your house, listen to your claim, fill in papers, and will do some patrolling everyday for several days. It is not that nobody bothers to report crimes. Japanese people bothers to report crimes, but it is up to the police department that if they should accept the damage report and do some further investigation. Of course there are priorities and because of the lack of resources some crimes won't be taken seriously when it should have.
  - derefr 8y ago
    Oh, sure, people are very willing to report their suspicion of a crime happening to someone else. But what do you think is, say, the date-rape report rate for Japan vs. any other country? Something that's already a source of personal shame is hard enough to report; knowing that no investigation will even be attempted in response means there's no reason to try to overcome that shame. (Also, Japan is very willing to respond to any random report by "increasing patrols" by the low-level police-box staffers who are basically there to make it look like Something Is Being Done. Look at what reports ever get any detectives assigned to them, and the statistics will tell a far different story.)
    - ramblerman 8y ago
      > Oh, sure, people are very willing to report their suspicion of a crime happening to someone else. Are you talking from experience, or further extrapolating from the Wikipedia article you read?
    - doall 8y ago
      > Oh, sure, people are very willing to report their suspicion of a crime happening to someone else. I can say the same thing when you see a stranger entering your property that such case alone can be a crime in the Japanese law. I have seen Japanese people reporting such crimes. > But what do you think is, say, the date-rape report rate for Japan vs. any other country? Something that's already a source of personal shame is hard enough to report; knowing that no investigation will even be attempted in response means there's no reason to try to overcome that shame. Even in such specific type of crimes that is very difficult to investigate, some people report to the police. It is up to the police department to accept the reports and further investigate. > Look at what reports ever get any detectives assigned to them, and the statistics will tell a far different story. Your claim was that nobody bothers to report, but I oppose to the claim because I have seen people reporting, and thus I still conclude your claim is false.
- emodendroket 8y ago
  The police are also notoriously guilty of beating and practically torturing confessions out of suspects. Another phenomenon I read about is classifying murders as suicides, especially if organized crime is involved, but I don't have a sense of the scope of that.

derefr 8y ago

> a 98% conviction rate Quoting wikipedia: > In Japan, the criminal justice system has a conviction rate that exceeds 99% (Note that it includes guilty plea cases.), which has been attributed to low prosecutorial budgets impelling understaffed prosecutors to present judges with only the most obviously guilty defendants. This has ripples all the way back through the Japanese criminal-justice system. The police don't bother to even investigate crimes with merely circumstantial evidence, because such cases are unlikely to be prosecuted. So nobody bothers to even report such crimes, and so they're far easier to get away with and more prevalent. I wouldn't describe such an environment as particularly "civilized."

ALittleLight 8y ago
For context, also from Wikipedia >For 2012, the US Department of Justice reported a 93% conviction rate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conviction_rate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conviction_rate I agree the high rate is troubling. We'd need to find a good middle ground. Too low and it suggests prosecutors are bringing spurious cases. Too high and it means difficult cases are likely getting dropped or the process is just for show.
mehblahwhatevs 8y ago
Agreed. Similarly I've heard that police will often juke the stats, labeling deaths that are circumstantial as suicides so as not to investigate or try to get a guilty? Or that once you're arrested rights are questionable when it comes to interrogation techniques and due process.
janekm 8y ago
It's not just Japan though. In the US, apparently, 97% of federal convictions are the result of guilty pleas, and there is evidence that in many cases the plea is entered due to the defendant dealing they don't have the resources to defend themselves: https://theoutline.com/post/2066/most-criminal-cases-end-in-plea-bargains-not-trials https://theoutline.com/post/2066/most-criminal-cases-end-in-...
- emodendroket 8y ago
  Yes, but, to our shame, the US is also recognized as a horrifying outlier and imprisons a greater portion of its population than any other country on Earth. According to this Washington Post article, 5% of the world's people are Americans, but one-quarter of the world's prisoners are American: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/07/07/yes-u-s-locks-people-up-at-a-higher-rate-than-any-other-country/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/07/...
ceejayoz 8y ago
Don't forget this bit, either: > Many Western human rights organizations alleged that the high conviction rate is due to rampant use of conviction solely based on confession. Confessions are often obtained after long periods of questioning by police as those arrested may be held for up to 23 days. This can, at times, take weeks during which time the suspect is in detention and can be prevented from contacting a lawyer or family.
doall 8y ago
>So nobody bothers to even report such crimes As a person who knows Japan quite well, this is not true. Even a very light case like seeing a stranger near a house, Japanese people will often call the police or go to a koban and request for help. In such case, a police officer will come to your house, listen to your claim, fill in papers, and will do some patrolling everyday for several days. It is not that nobody bothers to report crimes. Japanese people bothers to report crimes, but it is up to the police department that if they should accept the damage report and do some further investigation. Of course there are priorities and because of the lack of resources some crimes won't be taken seriously when it should have.
- derefr 8y ago
  Oh, sure, people are very willing to report their suspicion of a crime happening to someone else. But what do you think is, say, the date-rape report rate for Japan vs. any other country? Something that's already a source of personal shame is hard enough to report; knowing that no investigation will even be attempted in response means there's no reason to try to overcome that shame. (Also, Japan is very willing to respond to any random report by "increasing patrols" by the low-level police-box staffers who are basically there to make it look like Something Is Being Done. Look at what reports ever get any detectives assigned to them, and the statistics will tell a far different story.)
  - ramblerman 8y ago
    > Oh, sure, people are very willing to report their suspicion of a crime happening to someone else. Are you talking from experience, or further extrapolating from the Wikipedia article you read?
  - doall 8y ago
    > Oh, sure, people are very willing to report their suspicion of a crime happening to someone else. I can say the same thing when you see a stranger entering your property that such case alone can be a crime in the Japanese law. I have seen Japanese people reporting such crimes. > But what do you think is, say, the date-rape report rate for Japan vs. any other country? Something that's already a source of personal shame is hard enough to report; knowing that no investigation will even be attempted in response means there's no reason to try to overcome that shame. Even in such specific type of crimes that is very difficult to investigate, some people report to the police. It is up to the police department to accept the reports and further investigate. > Look at what reports ever get any detectives assigned to them, and the statistics will tell a far different story. Your claim was that nobody bothers to report, but I oppose to the claim because I have seen people reporting, and thus I still conclude your claim is false.
emodendroket 8y ago
The police are also notoriously guilty of beating and practically torturing confessions out of suspects. Another phenomenon I read about is classifying murders as suicides, especially if organized crime is involved, but I don't have a sense of the scope of that.