Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Japan Rethinking Juvenile Laws > TOKYO (AP) -- Sixteen-year-old Takakazu Take was riding > his bicycle home from a school festival when a boy from > another school chased him down and mercilessly beat and > kicked him. Take died 12 days later. > > Finding Take's killer was easy. But, under Japanese > laws, punishing him has been almost impossible. > > Japan is far more lenient toward teen-age suspects than > other industrial nations, such as the United States or > Britain. While the question in American courts is often > whether to charge youngsters as adults, the debate in > Japan is whether to charge them at all. > > But with the number of juveniles committing serious > crimes in Japan swelling, so is a movement to rewrite > long-standing laws that protect -- some say coddle -- > young suspects. > > Take's 16-year-old attacker never had to appear before > a criminal court. The very most he will have to serve > is two years in a reform school. Chances are his stay > will be a matter of several months. > > ``Some teens commit crimes thinking, `Why not?','' said > Susumu Oda, a psychiatrist and former juvenile facility > official who is a professor at the International > University of Health and Welfare. > > ``We are sending the wrong message -- that they can get > away with anything. We need to change the law.'' > > Laws shielding children from criminal responsibility > have been on the books for decades, and were very > rarely questioned until a recent spate of high-profile > violent crimes involving teen-agers. > > Particularly shocking was the arrest last year of a > teen suspected of beheading a younger boy and then > leaving the head in front of a school gate with a > sinister note stuffed in its mouth. > > Reports of other murders committed by teens have become > a fixture in the news media since, as has a surge in > the number of assaults committed by youngsters using > knives. > > Though the incidence of teen crime is still low when > compared with the United States and some other > countries, it is clearly on the rise. The number of > juveniles committing murder, rape and other serious > crimes jumped to 2,263 in 1997, up 51 percent from the > year before. > > But under laws enacted in 1949, a suspect now must be > at least 16 to be considered for a criminal charge. All > cases involving those younger than 16 and most cases > for those under 20 are handled by more lenient family > courts, which also oversee divorces. > > The family courts may order counseling, monitoring at > home or detention at a juvenile facility for up to two > years. > > To protect the privacy of the minor, family court > proceedings are closed, even to the victims. Testimony > and documents are not put on public record, meaning the > only way to find out what happened is to file a civil > lawsuit. > > In response to a public outcry for action, the > governing Liberal Democratic Party is proposing > revisions of the juvenile laws. The Justice Ministry > has also decided to consider change. > > Proposals have been made to lower the age at which > criminal charges are possible from 16 to 14. Another > proposal would lower the maximum age covered by the > juvenile laws from 20 to 18. > > Such efforts are opposed by many crime experts, who say > youngsters deserve gentler treatment. They say Japanese > juvenile facilities have proven effective in reforming > youngsters, noting the rate of repeat offenders is less > than 20 percent. > > ``Why be so quick to destroy what is a big plus in > Japanese society?'' said Toshio Sawanobori, a professor > of criminal law at Kokugakuin University in Tokyo. > > But to many people, the justice system appears overly > worried about the future of the juvenile wrongdoer -- > at the cost of the victim. > > Critics say that the laws are outdated, born of a time > when most crime was caused by poverty, and that what > counts now is the need to protect the individual on the > street. > > Because of the closed nature of the current system, > victims or their families are often unable to find out > even the most basic information regarding the trial of > an accused teen. > > Take's mother, Ruriko, said the family court refused to > give her any information about what was done to the boy > who killed her son. She said her son's school told her > the accused was sent to a juvenile facility. > > Beyond that, she knows nothing. > > In disgust, she and several other couples whose > children were murdered by teen-agers formed the > Association for Victims of Juvenile Crimes four months > ago. > > The formation of the group generated some media > attention for their frustrations, but Take's mother > says she has yet to find solace from Japan's legal > system. > > ``How could there be real remorse when even the facts > aren't made clear?'' she said. -- Two rules in life: 1. Don't tell people everything you know. 2. Subscribe/Unsubscribe, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the body of the message enter: subscribe/unsubscribe law-issues
