The government has submitted a bill to revise the Juvenile Law with the aim of meting out stricter punishment to minors who commit crimes. The call for more severe punishment comes from victims and the bereaved families of victims of crimes committed by minors.
Supporters of the revision insist that the bill adjusts criminal punishment for minors in the right direction. The Diet should carefully discuss the revision, as the purpose of the Juvenile Law is to protect and rehabilitate minors who have committed crimes. They should scrutinize whether the revision bill lives up to the spirit of the law and whether it would help reduce juvenile crime.
The Juvenile Law sets down procedures for family courts and treatment or punishment for juvenile offenders. There have been moves to toughen up the law since 2001. That year, the minimum age at which criminal punishment could be meted out was lowered from 16 to 14. In 2007, the minimum age for sending juveniles to reformatories was lowered from 14 to 12.