3 HN users recommended this explainer3 months2020score 3
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
Recommended as a sourced, nuanced corrective whenever the Japanese justice system's conviction rate is raised.
Yuta explains what Japan's 99% conviction rate actually means, noting that prosecutors drop cases unless confidence is very high. He argues that the number is widely misunderstood and cites his sources.
“I've seen this Japanese person explaining the situation informally but thoroughly.” (HN, 2020)
I'm not Japanese, but I've seen this Japanese person explaining the situation informally but thoroughly. [this video] The premise is, yes 99% percent is a measured rate but also has no utility in a discussion if the other parts of the big picture is ignored.
Thorough explanation of 99% conviction rate context
This 99% number does not mean what people think it means. The Japanese prosecution system is a pipeline that strongly filters out unlikely-to-be-convicted cases from the very beginning. Long before you are convicted, you might not even be arrested, or your case gets dismissed earlier in the pipeline. Here is a video, with references, from a relatively trustworthy source: [this video]
Referenced explanation of the 99% conviction figure
The high conviction rate seems to be because cases are dropped unless the prosecution's confidence is very high, rather than letting it go to trial. [this video]
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