I'm an American ex-prosecutor. Our conviction rate is similar -- many places are like this. Note that the 99% figure includes guilty pleas. If this statistic we

I'm an American ex-prosecutor. Our conviction rate is similar -- many places are like this. Note that the 99% figure includes guilty pleas. If this statistic were about "99% of criminal trials end in victory for the prosecutor," now THAT would be something I'd expect to see linked to North Korea. But the extreme vast majority of crim cases never reach trial. Both here in the States and in Japan, as well as elsewhere, a lot of the reason for the high conviction rate is understaffing. It's a combination of (a) not enough time and money to bring all cases to trial, and (b) only bringing the obviously guilty cases all the way to trial. Guilty pleas are everything. (I'm not saying that's a good thing, because it isn't, but it's the reality.) Approximately 97% of federal felony convictions result from pleas. As a prosecutor, I felt far far more like a negotiator than a litigator. In one year, I handled approximately 700 cases and had only 2 trials. (Not all of the rest were convictions; many were moved to alternative resolutions (i.e., drug treatment programs), and a few were dismissed.) 700 cases in one year is an unethical number of cases, but what could anyone do? We were only paid ~$40,000 per year (on top of massive loan debt) and they still couldn't afford to hire more. Public defenders were similarly overworked. Hence the pleas, and the high conviction rates.