The juvenile court system should be reviewed to enable family courts to fully investigate juvenile crimes, Justice Minister Kokichi Shimoinaba said in a recent interview.
Just hours after his appointment to the post Sept. 11, Shimoinaba, 71, told a news conference that the Juvenile Law's basic stance that stresses youth protection and education is unquestionable. But in a subsequent press conference and interview, the former superintendent general of the Metropolitan Police Department Liberal Democrat in his second term added that the current family court proceedings have flaws -- including the lack of participation by prosecutors in hearings and insufficient time for deliberations.
He said that family courts cannot always fully pursue facts about a case because the judges have only a month to deliberate. In addition, because prosecutors are not allowed to participate directly in family court hearings judges sometimes have to take on their role when juveniles deny wrongdoings.