In reform bid, Japan opts for trial by jury

To address this shortage, the government allowed universities across the country to establish law schools in 2003 and aims to lift the pass rate for the bar exam so that the number of judges, prosecutors, and lawyers in Japan will double by 2018.

But while the government has big plans for Japan's legal system, the public isn't so sure about the idea.

A recent survey by the Yomiuri Shimbun, a major daily, showed that over 70 percent of respondents didn't want to take part in jury trials. The main reasons given were a lack of confidence over whether they could accurately judge a defendant guilty or not, and a reluctance to judge others for ethical reasons.

"I personally don't agree with introducing a jury system - it's too sudden," says a middle-aged businessman in downtown Tokyo. A degree of knowledge about the law and judicial precedent would be needed to sit on a jury, he asserts.

"I don't really understand why such a system is necessary," says Hirokazu Hanzawa, who makes his living selling curry lunches out of the back of his minivan. "I can't take any time off work to go and sit on a jury," he says, echoing comments from other busy workers.

The government plans a major public education program about the new system before its introduction. Fukurai says that for the system to work it has to be user-friendly and issues that are now vague, such as the degree of influence the judge will have in the deliberation process, must be clarified.

Japan enacted a jury system in 1923 during a brief period of movement toward democratic ideals, but the role of the jury was limited to answering questions submitted by the judge as to whether a fact had been proven. A combination of systemic defects and an increasingly fascist climate in government eventually led to the abandonment of the system in 1943.

This time around, the judicial reform law again represents hopes for a more democratic society.

"One reason for introducing the system is to encourage [Japanese], as a sovereign people, to become more engaged in the judicial sphere [of government], and to get people to realize that in a democracy, society is protected by laws," says Ms. Kudo.

It may take time until hopes for educating ordinary Japanese about civic responsibility are fully realized, but the jury legislation is certainly an important step.

"I think it's good [that the law has been enacted]," says Yuriko Okamoto, a worker with a nonprofit organization. "I'd like to see what it's like to be on a jury - I wouldn't be indifferent about it," she says.

• Sanae Kawanaka contributed to this report.

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