Opposition Seeks Wider Evidence Disclosure in Retrial Bill

Tokyo, June 23 (Jiji Press)--The opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan on Tuesday requested again that a retrial system reform bill be amended further to widen the range of evidence subject to mandatory disclosure in retrial cases.

The request was made at the Judicial Affairs Committee of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, the country's parliament, where substantive deliberations began on the bill to revise the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The CDP also renewed calls for scrapping a provision banning the use of disclosed evidence for purposes outside retrial proceedings.

"If the overriding purpose of the revision (of the code) is the pursuit of the truth, the expression 'allowing disclosed evidence to be used for retrials' would serve that purpose," CDP member Hiroe Makiyama said, adding that sensitive information could be redacted to protect privacy.

State Minister of Justice Hidehiro Mitani, however, objected that the ban had been decided as a result of various debates, apparently bearing in mind discussions at the Legislative Council, which advises the justice minister.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]