Japan's new trial-by-jury system, which was officially inaugurated May 21, won't start trying defendants until later this summer. When it does happen, citizen participation will likely mean substantial changes to a legal system in which trials can meander on for years in an arcane version of the language that most ordinary Japanese can hardly understand.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Asia Sentinel to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.