The Development of Jury Service in Japan

Anna Dobrovolskaia is an independent scholar currently based in Tokyo, Japan. Her main areas of interest include the sociology of law and Japan’s legal, political, and cultural history.

Chapter 1. Introduction



Legal Change: Contending Explanations



Plan of the Book



Chapter 2: The Pre-war History of the Concept of Trial by Jury in Japan



Historial Background: The Developments in the Japanese Legal System in the Meiji Period



The Introduction of the Concept of Jury Service to Japan



The Bureaucratic Jury (Sanza) System



The Meiji Constitution: The Public Debate



Boissonade’s Proposal: Provisions Concerning the Jury in the Draft of the Code of Criminal Instruction



Evaluating the First Attempts to Introduce Trial by Jury in Meiji Period Japan



Conclusions



Chapter 3. The Pre-war Jury System



Historical Background: The Developments in the Legal System in the Late Meiji, Taishō, and Early Shōwa Periods



Drafting and Implementation



The Jury Act: A Summary



Promotion Efforts and Implementation



The Japanese Jury in Action



Amendments and Suspension



Evaluating Japan’s Pre-war Experience with Jury Trials



Conclusions



Chapter 4. Attempts to Introduce the Jury System in Japan’s Colonial Possessions



Historical Background: Japan and Its Colonies



Taiwan: Attempts to Introduce the Jury System in the Japanese Colonial Period



Karafuto: The Jury System on the Island during the Japanese Colonial Period



The Jury System in Colonial Japan: The Colonized Peoples in Japanese Jury Courts



Evaluating the Attempts to Introduce the Jury System in Taiwan and Karafuto



Conclusions



Chapter 5. The Occupation Years: Attempts to Introduce the Jury System



Historical Background: The Developments in the Legal System in the Immediate Post-War Period



The Proposals to Introduce the Jury System in Mainland Japan under the Allied Occupation



The Jury System in Okinawa under the U.S. Occupation



Evaluating Japan’s and Okinawa’s Experiences with Jury Trials under the Occupation



Conclusions



Chapter 6. The Mixed-Court Jury (Saiban’in) System in Contemporary Japan



Historical Background: The Developments in the Legal System in the Post-Occupation Period



The Background to the Adoption of the Lay Judge Act



Drafting and Enactment



The Lay Judge Act: A Summary



Preparation for Enforcement



Public Debate



Implementation and the First Lay Judge Case



The First Six Years of the Functioning of the System



Evaluating Japan’s New Lay Judge (Saiban’in) System



Conclusions



Chapter 7. Conclusions



Why Was the Jury System Introduced (or Ended Up not Being Introduced) at Different Times in Japan’s History?



What Were the Determinants of Success and Failure of Japan’s Past Experiences with the Jury System and How Does the Lay Judge (Saiban’in) System Fare with regard to These Parameters?



A Summary of Findings: Revisiting the Two Approaches to Analyzing Legal Change



Bibliography



Appendix



Illustrations



Index