Newly appointed Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa pledged reforms Friday to the nation’s justice system, including policies that impact foreign nationals residing in Japan, aiming to improve its transparency and help “create a society where no one is left isolated.”
The 67-year-old Kamikawa was reinstated as justice minister in the new Cabinet of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Sept. 16, having assumed the position twice — from 2014 to 2015 and from 2017 to 2018.
“I will make the most of my past experience (during my previous tenure) to regain public trust and confidence,” Kamikawa said during a group interview, hinting at the impacts of past controversies involving the justice system on its public perception. She also pledged changes that would make it “more familiar to the public.”