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>A criminal charge would have ruined his life The typical punishment for petty theft in Japan is having to pay for the item and a slap on the wrist. If you sho

>A criminal charge would have ruined his life The typical punishment for petty theft in Japan is having to pay for the item and a slap on the wrist. If you show remorse, settle with the victim, and aren't a repeat offender, prosecutors in Japan will pretty much never take it to a formal trial. Amazon gets no say in this: If prosecutors aren't interested, there won't be a trial. It's their exclusive authority. >According to Japanese criminal procedure article 248, a prosecutor may choose not to prosecute when prosecution is deemed unnecessary considering the character, age, and background of the offender, the severity of the offense, and the circumstances following the offense.[1] [1]: https://www.criminaldefensejapan.com/post/how-much-does-it-cost-to-retain-a-criminal-defense-lawyer-in-japan-shoplifting-case https://www.criminaldefensejapan.com/post/how-much-does-it-c...

fennecfoxy 3y ago
Japan has a 99% conviction rate: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20810572 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20810572 If prosecutors are sure that they have enough "evidence" or social bias (especially for people with criminal records) then they will relentlessly pursue a defendant like terminators. It's not really a haven for justice.
- juliusgeo 3y ago
  The US federal government has a similarly high conviction rate, especially considering the number of plea deals (90% of defendants plead guilty). https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/06/11/only-2-of-federal-criminal-defendants-go-to-trial-and-most-who-do-are-found-guilty/ https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/06/11/only-2-of.... I went to Wikipedia to find more information and it seems that your characterization of it as very unjust is a common misconception: > According to Bruce Aronson of New York University School of Law, Japan's conviction rate is misleading because it is the rate at which defendants admit guilt in the cases they are charged with. According to him, if the method of calculating the conviction rate in Japan is applied to the United States, the conviction rate of federal defendants in the United States in 2018 was also over 99%. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_justice_system_of_Japan https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_justice_system_of_J...
  - fennecfoxy 3y ago
    I'm not American and I definitely do not think America is a haven for justice either, ha ha.

fennecfoxy 3y ago

Japan has a 99% conviction rate: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20810572 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20810572 If prosecutors are sure that they have enough "evidence" or social bias (especially for people with criminal records) then they will relentlessly pursue a defendant like terminators. It's not really a haven for justice.

juliusgeo 3y ago
The US federal government has a similarly high conviction rate, especially considering the number of plea deals (90% of defendants plead guilty). https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/06/11/only-2-of-federal-criminal-defendants-go-to-trial-and-most-who-do-are-found-guilty/ https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/06/11/only-2-of.... I went to Wikipedia to find more information and it seems that your characterization of it as very unjust is a common misconception: > According to Bruce Aronson of New York University School of Law, Japan's conviction rate is misleading because it is the rate at which defendants admit guilt in the cases they are charged with. According to him, if the method of calculating the conviction rate in Japan is applied to the United States, the conviction rate of federal defendants in the United States in 2018 was also over 99%. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_justice_system_of_Japan https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_justice_system_of_J...
- fennecfoxy 3y ago
  I'm not American and I definitely do not think America is a haven for justice either, ha ha.