The Japanese government plans to approve on May 15 a bill to reform the criminal trial review system. The initiative comes after the case of Iwao Hakamada, who was declared innocent in 2024 after 44 years on death row. The bill seeks to tighten the requirements for prosecutors to appeal case reopenings and requires publishing the reasons for such appeals.
Judicial technology: transparency in appeals ⚖️
The final bill introduces technical changes to the legal process. It now requires the prosecution to publish the reasons for its appeals to higher courts and the Supreme Court, a mechanism aimed at reducing opacity. Additionally, requirements for challenging case reopening decisions are tightened, limiting prosecutorial discretion. This procedural adjustment seeks to avoid delays like those in the Hakamada case, where the review took decades.
Japanese prosecution: now it's time to explain 📝
After 44 years, the Japanese prosecution discovers that appealing without giving reasons is no longer an option. The new bill requires them to produce the little note of reasons before appealing, as if it were a doctor's note to skip work. At least now, if a prosecutor insists on keeping someone on death row, they will have to write why. Who knows, maybe they'll even use a pen.