The Osaka Detention House in Osaka's Miyakojima Ward in 2018 (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
OSAKA--The Osaka Bar Association is financially rewarding lawyers for fighting Japan’s infamous “hostage justice” practice, in which bail is typically granted only to suspects who admit to the allegations.
Under the unusual system set up in April, the association is paying up to 40,000 yen ($365) to attorneys who file a quasi-appeal against a court’s detention order.
“If more quasi-appeals are submitted, the courts may more frequently reject prosecutors’ requests (to keep suspects in custody),” said lawyer Nobukata Shimizu, head of the Osaka Bar Association’s Criminal Defense Committee. “We want to raise lawyers’ awareness so that suspects will not be detained unnecessarily.”