An epoch-making event in the Japanese judiciary system took place Jan. 27, when, for the first time in Japanese legal history, the prosecution's decision not to indict a suspect was reversed by votes of a panel composed of citizens.
The No. 2 Prosecution Inquest Committee in Kobe cast a legally binding vote to indict Kazuaki Sakaki, 63, former deputy superintendent of the Akashi Police Station in Hyogo Prefecture, for negligence that allegedly led to large casualties among those who gathered to watch a fireworks festival on July 21, 2001.
The prosecutors had excluded the deputy superintendent from the list of those indicted in the case. But the decision was nullified with the committee's vote, in accordance with amendments made to the relevant law in 2009.