I’ve heard people say that lawyers only choose to prosecute cases that they know they might win, but isn’t that true for lawyers in basically any country, anywhere?
EDIT: I meant conviction rate in the title.
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Important distinction, the *conviction* rate is very high in Japan but this number is disputed because of how it is measured.
By comparison the US federal conviction rate is reported as high as 95% but this number varies because they may include or exclude cases that plead guilty or are settled out of court.
The key factor in Japan is that a lot of cases are dropped long before they go to court. They only go to court if they know they have a 99% chance of getting a conviction.
The Japanese system also doesn’t operate on the concept of ‘Innocent until proven Guilty” and they are extremely harsh on defendants. They do however have a provision in the Constitution against self incrimination (like the US 5th amendment)
There is strong emphasis placed on confessions in court and Police are known for extracting false confessions from defendants under duress. They can also hold defendants for extended periods, bail is rare, and are known for treating them very harshly.
The rules over there are also different, evidence is often thrown out and defendants have a much harder time defending themselves.
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