Lay judges involved in the trial of a senior yakuza have been approached by someone believed to be associated with the defendant, sources said Monday.
According to the sources, the person in question said something like "I'm counting on you" to the lay judges after the trial concluded May 12.
The Fukuoka District Court's Kokura branch subsequently canceled its plan to issue the ruling on June 16 and is looking into whether the lay judge law was violated. Under the law, any attempt to pressure a citizen judge is illegal.
The case involves a 40-year-old executive of the Kudo-kai crime syndicate.
The lay judge system was launched in May 2009 in the hope it would lead to verdicts on serious crimes that better reflect the view of the average citizen.
The Supreme Court said it is unheard of for a scheduled ruling to be canceled due to coercion of a lay judge or a request for special consideration.
Breaking the lay judge law can draw up to two years in prison or a fine of up to ¥200,000.
The district court will consider whether the case should no longer be heard by lay judges and might even hand down a ruling made only by professional judges, court sources said.
Under the lay judge system, six citizens selected from the public and three professional judges hear criminal cases involving murder and some types of robbery, arson and kidnapping.
The defendant was indicted on a charge of attempted murder in November for allegedly trying to kill a male acquaintance by stabbing him with a Japanese sword. His trial was held from May 10 to 12.
The same court had previously decided that five criminal cases involving Kudo-kai members should not be heard by lay judges, saying it would put them at risk of harm.