Der öffentliche Widerstand gegen die Macht der Staatsanwaltschaft in Japan wächst. Die Zahl der Beiträge in den sozialen Medien, die sich gegen den Plan der Regierung aussprechen, Staatsanwälten die Möglichkeit zu geben, gegen Wiederaufnahmeverfahren Berufung einzulegen, um falsche Verurteilungen zu verhindern, hat sich verachtfacht

Posts criticizing the Ministry of Justice’s stance are spreading on X (formerly Twitter) over the proposed revisions to the Code of Criminal Procedure concerning the retrial system. During the Liberal Democratic Party’s preliminary review of the government bill—which would retain prosecutors’ right to appeal decisions to begin retrials—one objection after another was raised, and even shouting matches broke out, apparently drawing public attention. Debate is expected to reach a critical stage soon as discussions continue over where the issue will ultimately land. <Continued below>

Jiji Press used the social media analysis tool “Brandwatch” to examine X posts (including reposts) containing related terms such as “retrial” and “retrial law.” According to the analysis, there were 149,293 such posts in total from April 1 to 30. On April 3, when the LDP’s joint meeting of the Legal Affairs Division and Judicial System Research Council began reviewing the bill’s wording, there were 1,378 posts. But after the weekend, on April 6—when the heated nature of the meeting became especially noticeable—the number surged more than eightfold to 11,485. The following day, April 7, it climbed further to 12,875.

“Next session will be the last” for review of retrial bill, Ministry of Justice tells LDP lawmakers

Along with this, critical comments on X containing words such as “opposition” and “terrible” also spread. There were 482 such posts on April 3, but that figure rose to 4,180 on April 6. Over the course of April, these kinds of posts accounted for roughly 30% of the total. Common criticisms included statements such as “It’s an abnormal situation where only the Ministry of Justice and prosecutors oppose banning appeals” and “This is an issue involving people’s lives and futures.”

One of the sparks behind the controversy was former LDP Policy Research Council Chairperson Tomomi Inada, herself a lawyer. At the beginning of the April 6 joint meeting, in front of reporters, she fiercely protested to Ministry of Justice officials, saying, “They won’t listen to a single thing we say.” On X, the phrase “Inada Rebellion” spread instantly.

At the April 15 joint meeting as well, House of Representatives member Tsuneo Ide angrily declared, “We’re not doing this for the Ministry of Justice. Don’t mess around.” Posts on April 16 once again exceeded 10,000. Even in the latter half of April, when the meetings were effectively suspended, between 3,000 and 8,000 posts per day continued to appear.

Looking at words frequently used together with the topic, “ban on appeals” (26,000 posts), “problem” (17,000), and “criticism” (17,000) ranked near the top. Some posts also condemned the justice ministry and prosecutors for “not reflecting at all,” referring to the case of Iwao Hakamada, whose retrial took more than nine years to begin due to prosecutors’ appeals.

The Ministry of Justice, aiming to pass the bill during the current Diet session, hopes to complete preliminary screening in the first half of May. It plans to present a revised proposal at the next joint meeting on the 7th that would make prosecutors’ appeals “prohibited in principle.” However, lawmakers who have demanded a “complete ban” remain firmly opposed.