The Supreme Court will take action after revelations that records of criminal cases involving minors, including high-profile serial child murders in Kobe in 1997, as well as civil trials, were wrongfully discarded.
An investigative report released by the top court in May showed that most of the records under review had been disposed of automatically, highlighting courts' lack of willingness to permanently preserve such records.
Considering trial records to be "assets shared by the people," the Supreme Court plans to work hard to change the mentality of court officials and prevent any recurrence of document destruction that violates a bylaw of the top court.