In March 2007, the Japanese police came under intense scrutiny at home and abroad after Tatsuya Ichihashi escaped barefoot from under the noses of a group of officers at his apartment in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture. The body of British Nova teacher Lindsay Hawker was found shortly after partially buried in a bathtub full of sand on the apartment balcony.
After eluding police for more than 2 1/2 years, Ichihashi was arrested last month on an outstanding warrant for abandoning Hawker's body. On Dec. 2, police announced Ichihashi had been indicted on the abandonment charge, and rearrested on a warrant for Hawker's rape and murder.
With Ichihashi's arrest, the focus of domestic and international attention has now shifted to Japan's criminal justice system, including the detention and interrogation of suspects, and recent judicial reforms such as the lay judge system. The inclusion of the rape charge and the release by police of information about Hawker's injuries suggest prosecutors will ask for the death penalty in this case, a contentious issue given that the number of executions in Japan continues to rise amid an international trend away from the death penalty. With the stakes this high, the question many will be asking is: Can Ichihashi receive a fair trial under the Japanese criminal justice system, especially considering the intense media coverage this case has generated over the last few years?