Members of Japan LDP Oppose Retrial System Reform Bill

Tokyo, April 4 (Jiji Press)--Members of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party have voiced opposition to a bill to reform the retrial system that the government is considering submitting.

At an LDP meeting to check a draft of the bill, objections were raised against the right of public prosecutors to appeal court decisions granting retrials included in the draft. The outlook for the bill is uncertain.

"We do not intend to conclude discussions hastily," former Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki said at the beginning of the meeting, held jointly by the LDP's Judicial Affairs Division and Judiciary System Research Commission on Friday.

"Each issue will be examined in depth," he added.

The meeting, originally scheduled to last an hour, was extended to two and a half hours. In heated exchanges, angry shouts erupted occasionally.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]