Electronically Recording Custodial Interrogations in Japan

Can the Revised CCP Provide Hope for the Reform of Custodial Interrogation?

Abstract

The National Diet passed a bill on the reform of the criminal justice system on 24 May 2016 to revise the Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP) and other laws. This reform covered various issues, including expanding the evidence to be disclosed and the number of crimes subject to wiretapping, but, most importantly, it addressed the mandatory audio/video recording of interrogations. This criminal justice reform could have resolved the structural issues inherent in the Japanese criminal system, but it did not go far enough. Mandatory audio/video recording may help to prevent interrogators from using violence against suspects, but it applies in only a small percentage of all criminal cases. The revised CCP does not require a lawyer to be present during interrogations, and the Japanese investigating authorities still rely excessively on custodial interrogations. Additionally, some scholars are concerned that if there are no restrictions on the use of video-recorded confessions as evidence, this might create a new risk of wrongful convictions because of the impact of such recordings. Is the criminal justice reform compatible with international human rights standards? In other words, can the revised CCP provide hope for the reform of custodial interrogation? This article examines the revised CCP in relation to international human rights standards, focusing especially on the mandatory audio/video recording of custodial interrogations.