To the Supreme Court
We welcome the news that the Supreme Court will hold training sessions at the Judicial Research and Training Institute starting in January 2026, where criminal trial judges from across the nation will exchange views on bail. We strongly hope these training sessions will serve as an opportunity to promote the proper application of bail in accordance with the Constitution and international human rights law.
To achieve this, it is essential for judges to directly understand the impact that physical detention due to denial of bail has on detainees and their families. We strongly propose creating opportunities to hear not only from researchers and legal professionals, but also from those who have experienced detention, as well as their families. In particular, interviewing the victims of the Ohkawara Kakohki case (which prompted these training sessions) is indispensable. Furthermore, broadly gathering opinions from those involved in other cases will help identify universal issues that transcend individual cases.
Needless to say, the purpose of these interviews is not to dispute the appropriateness of the court’s decisions, but to understand the human rights implications of denying bail. Therefore, using cases as examples does not infringe upon the independence of the judges who made those decisions.
We respectfully request that you consider conducting interviews, at least with the victims of the Ohkawara Kakohki case - Mr. Masaaki Ohkawara, Mr. Junji Shimada, and the family of the late Mr. Shizuo Aijima. Please note that this request has been made with the prior consent of these individuals. We sincerely appreciate your kind consideration of this matter.
From
Kanae Doi, Human Rights Watch
Kana Sasakura, Innocence Project Japan
Akio Ishizuka, Innocence Project Japan
