Japan Institute for the Study
of Wrongful Arrests and Convictions

Things You Can Do to Refom the System

19 Things you can do to combat wrongful arrests and convictions.

  1. Oppose the death penalty

  2. Attend trials.

  3. Write to incarcerated defendants.
    Send a letter, a card, a picture, a postcard while you are on vacation.

  4. Visit the defendants in jail.

  5. Support the reintroduction of a jury system

  6. Research a case, write an article and get it published.
    --We can help you.

  7. Make suggestions for our data base.

  8. Write something for JISWAC.
    --impression, court report, book review, a full article.

  9. Be critical of Japanese procedures which permit incarceration and interrogation of suspects for up to 23 days in police cells without legal counsel or visits from family members.

  10. Be critical of "voluntary confessions."

  11. Join the support association of a wrongful arrest case.
    The yearly fee is usually 2-3,000 yen ($18~$28 year)

  12. Send in a suggestion for this list.

  13. Insist that interrogations be video taped.

  14. Take a deep and critical look at the criminal justice system in your own country.

  15. Understand the arbitrary and cruel usage of sekken kinshi, "prohibition of contact" with family, guardians, friends, etc for suspects who refuse to confess.

  16. Understand the unfair the procedures of shouko shirabe, admission of evidence, which allow the prosecution to veto evidence produced by the defense.

  17. Understand the significance of bekken taihou (pretextual arrests) for extracting false confessions.

  18. Be wary of western "experts" who extol the Japanese system.

    And most importantly,

    Speak Truth to Power!!