Criminal Defense

Japan's criminal procedure allows up to 23 days of pre-indictment detention, making early attorney involvement critical.

Arrest (Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 199): Typically by warrant, with warrantless arrest permitted for flagrant offenses (Art. 212). Police must transfer the suspect to prosecutors within 48 hours (Art. 203).

Detention (Art. 207-208): Prosecutors must request judicial detention within 24 hours of transfer or release the suspect. Detention lasts 10 days initially, extendable by 10 more days for a maximum of 20 days.

Prosecution decision: Japan's indictment rate is approximately 37%, with many cases resulting in suspended prosecution. Once indicted, the conviction rate exceeds 99%.

Trial: Proceedings follow the sequence of opening procedures, evidence examination, closing arguments, and judgment.

Every person has the right to retain an attorney from the moment of arrest (Constitution Art. 34, CCP Art. 30).

Duty Lawyer System: Bar associations provide one free attorney visit upon request. Simply tell the police you want to see a duty lawyer.

Court-Appointed Attorney (Art. 37-2): Defendants without financial means can receive state-funded counsel from the detention stage onward.

Privileged Communication (Art. 39): Attorney-client meetings require no observers and cannot be restricted even under communication bans. Early attorney involvement prevents potentially damaging confessions during interrogation.

Settlement with the victim — involving compensation payment and obtaining forgiveness — significantly influences prosecution and sentencing outcomes.

Impact on prosecution: When victims no longer desire punishment, prosecutors are more likely to suspend prosecution. Impact on sentencing: Settlement is a major mitigating factor even after indictment. Complaint-required offenses: For crimes like defamation (Art. 230) and insult (Art. 231), withdrawal of the complaint through settlement guarantees non-prosecution.

Typical settlement amounts: Assault (minor): ¥100K-500K; Theft: 1-3x stolen value; Indecent touching: ¥300K-1M; Voyeurism: ¥300K-1M; Fraud: damages plus consolation money.

Negotiations are always conducted through the defense attorney, who obtains victim contact information from prosecutors on a confidential basis.

Bail allows indicted defendants to be released upon deposit of bail money pending trial.

Mandatory bail (Art. 89): Must be granted unless specific exclusion grounds exist — such as crimes carrying death/life imprisonment, flight risk, evidence tampering risk, or threat to victims.

Discretionary bail (Art. 90): Courts may grant bail even when exclusion grounds exist.

Bail amount: Typically ¥1.5-3 million for ordinary cases, but can reach tens of millions for serious offenses or high-profile individuals. The full amount is returned after final judgment if all conditions are met.

Bail conditions: Residence restrictions, passport surrender, no-contact orders with victims. Violating conditions results in bail revocation and forfeiture of the deposit.

Suspended sentence (Penal Code Art. 25): For sentences of 3 years imprisonment or less, or fines of ¥500,000 or less, the court may suspend execution for 1-5 years. If the period passes without incident, the sentence loses its effect.

First-time offenders have a high likelihood of receiving suspended sentences. Probationary supervision may be added when recidivism risk exists (Art. 25-2).

Criminal record implications: While the sentence effect expires after the suspension period, the record itself persists. However, after 10 years from completion of imprisonment (5 years for fines), the record is formally extinguished (Art. 34-2). After this period, there is generally no legal obligation to disclose prior convictions in employment applications.