Tag - japanese-courts

 
Menu
Search
 
June 30, 2026
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

JAPANESE COURTS

Ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers have asked the Justice Ministry to amend a bill aimed at revising Japan’s retrial system.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 16, 2026
LDP members demand rewrite of bill to revise retrial system
The bill proposes a one-year limit on court proceedings initiated by prosecutors’ appeal against a retrial ruling, but party members want such appeals banned entirely.
A woman is being tried before the Tokyo District Court for involvement in forcing a 12-year-old Thai girl to offer sexual services at a massage parlor in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 15, 2026
Suspected broker denies knowing age of Thai girl in Tokyo trafficking case
Punsiripanya Phakhaphon is being tried before the Tokyo District Court for acting as a broker between a 12-year-old Thai girl’s mother and a massage parlor owner in Tokyo.
According to court records, the plaintiffs include the Japanese branch of Jehovah's Witnesses in Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 13, 2026
Jehovah’s Witnesses followers sue Japanese government
The plaintiffs claim that the guidelines violate religious freedom and are unconstitutional, also demanding compensation of ¥2 million per person from the state.
The government is set to delay the submission to parliament of a bill aimed at amending the country's retrial system.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 2026
Government to delay submission of retrial system reform bill
The move came as the government sees the need to take more time for coordination.
Hunter Haruo Ikegami (left) receives an apology from a Hokkaido police official in the city of Sunagawa on Thursday.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 9, 2026
Hokkaido returns rifle to hunter after court canceled revocation of his license
The hunter had his license revoked on the grounds that he could have damaged nearby structures when he shot a brown bear in 2018 at the request of the Sunagawa city government.
Hiroyuki Kuzuno, professor at Aoyama Gakuin University (left), and other legal experts on retrials hold a news conference in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 7, 2026
142 retrial experts blast Japanese government panel proposal
The Legislative Council proposal, which would maintain the right of the prosecution to appeal retrial orders, is saddled with “serious problems,” the group said.
The sons of late former Ohkawara Kakohki executive Shizuo Aishima during a news conference in Tokyo on Monday after suing the state
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 6, 2026
Bereaved family sues over ‘hostage justice’
It’s the latest in a series of lawsuits challenging Japan’s criminal justice system that critics say doesn’t always presume innocence and relies heavily on coerced confessions.
The apartment one of a son of Chizuo Matsumoto in Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture. Matsumoto was the former leader of the now-defunct Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult. His son recently filed a lawsuit against the government and is seeking damages for an attempted inspection of his apartment.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 5, 2026
Ex-Aum leader’s son seeks damages from government
This is the first time that details of his remarks and behavior related to the agency’s inspection attempt have come to light.
The National Diet building in Tokyo. Some members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party are opposed to a bill to reform the retrial system that the government is considering submitting.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 4, 2026
Many LDP members oppose retrial system reform bill
Many argued that retrial appeals by prosecutors should be banned, saying such appeals impede relief for wrongful convictions.
Followers of the Unification Church are preparing to establish a new organization following a Tokyo High Court order to dissolve the group, though the timing has yet to be decided.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2026
Unification Church followers consider new organization to continue practices
The planned organization may not have legal status, but would accept donations and manage funds.
Japan's rollout of a new joint custody system for divorcing couples has drawn mixed reactions from the public, with some abuse survivors voicing concerns over continued contact with or interference from former partners while proponents welcomed the move because it puts the country more in line with international standards.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 31, 2026
Japan rolls out new joint custody system
The change ends the country’s long-standing sole custody framework, under which only one parent could retain parental rights following a divorce.
The government adopted legislation at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday to revise auto laws by setting numerical standards for speeding and alcohol levels to clarify the application of dangerous driving offenses, aiming for enactment during the ongoing parliamentary session.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2026
Legislation adopted to set numerical thresholds for dangerous driving
Application requirements for the crime of dangerous driving are vague under current rules, and many cases have ended with convictions for negligent driving instead.
Men hiding their marital status to get women into a sexual relationship is nothing new. But a growing number of victims are speaking out on the men who deceived them for feigning singlehood — or dokushin gisō.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Mar 31, 2026
Deceived women seek criminal penalty for married men pretending to be single
As it stands, men feigning singlehood to enter into sexual relationships can only be sued in the civil courts.
Maki Takubo, former mayor of Ito in Shizuoka Prefecture, was indicted without arrest on Monday by public prosecutors on suspicion of violations including contravening the local autonomy law through alleged academic fraud.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 31, 2026
Former mayor of Ito indicted after allegedly falsifying academic record
Maki Takubo was elected Ito mayor for the first time in 2025 and claimed to have graduated from Toyo University, but later revealed that she had been expelled.
Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a meeting in Tokyo last week. Lower court rulings against a man who attacked him in 2023 are set to be finalized after being upheld by the Supreme Court.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 31, 2026
Top court upholds 10-year sentence for man who attacked Kishida in 2023
Lower court rulings had sentencing the 27-year-old for attacking the then prime minister with an explosive during an election campaign event the city of Wakayama.
The executive committee of Women in Law Japan poses for a photo at the organization’s 10th anniversary gala.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Mar 30, 2026
Women in Law Japan marks 10 years amid persistent gender gap in the profession
Through events, workshops and mentorship programs, the platform offers opportunities to connect for women in the legal profession in Japan.
Haruo Ikegami (center) smiles in Tokyo on Friday after the Supreme Court overturned a high court ruling that said it was legal for Hokkaido to revoke his gun license.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 28, 2026
Top court backs Hokkaido hunter who lost gun license after shooting bear
This was the first time for the Supreme Court to rule the revocation of a hunting gun license to be illegal.
Asahikawa Mayor Hirosuke Imazu holds a news conference following the settlement on Thursday in Asahikawa, Hokkaido.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 27, 2026
Hokkaido city reaches settlement over death of bullied girl
The family of the victim had sought about ¥115 million in damages, claiming the city failed to respond appropriately.
Tetsuro Kamata, then-deputy superintendent-general of Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department, speaks to reporters in August in Yokohama after apologizing to the bereaved family of Shizuo Aishima, who died with wrongful charges standing against him.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 27, 2026
Family of late Ohkawara executive to file suit over judges’ decisions
The family of Shizuo Aishima, who died before charges against him were dropped, is seeking ¥170 million in damages from the state.
The Tokyo District Court building. The court has sentenced the leader of a sex-worker scouting group to four years and six months in prison.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 26, 2026
Head of sex-worker scouting group sentenced to over four years in prison
According to the ruling, Kazuma Endo and others conspired to introduce 10 women to sex-related businesses between 2023 and 2024.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Chinese and Russian bombers and fighter jets stage joint patrol near Japan
A Chinese Air Force H-6 bomber is seen during a joint patrol with Russian military aircraft on Saturday.
U.S. missile moves in Japan send China clear message: A new era has arrived
Soldiers conduct the first Typhon midrange capability live-fire exercise outside of the continental United States, firing an SM-6 missile in July last year in Australia's Northern Territory during Exercise Talisman Sabre.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
LGBTQ+ families are building lives Japanese lawmakers still struggle to see
Haru Ono founded Nijiiro Kazoku in 2010 after forming a same-sex stepfamily. She said the impetus for founding the organization was that she couldn’t find much reliable information out there for families such as hers in Japan.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

New Logistics Consortium baton to accelerate trucking efficiency
New Logistics Consortium baton to accelerate trucking efficiency

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER