Osamu Watanabe, a special visiting professor at Konan University who is an expert in the Code of Criminal Procedure. Five years have passed since the introduction of the Japanese version of plea bargaining, but the procedure has been applied in only three cases.
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Japanese people have a deep-rooted belief that we should atone for our own sins, so plea bargaining is unlikely to increase very much.
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Moonraker
I would guess this is probably nothing to do with any deep-seated Japanese characteristic (the nihonjinron excuse) and more likely due to some kind bureaucratic procedure. Evading responsibility is otherwise rife from party, company and bureaucracy downwards.
JeffLee
"Atoning for sins" in Japan normally comes after marathon interrogations under bright lights by a team of interrogators against a suspect who is denied access to a lawyer and any other contact with the outside world for a couple of weeks.
dagon
Unless you are in a position of high social standing, in which case others sacrifice themselves for your sins and you carry on as usual.
Watanabe -sensei is quite the not very profound political philosopher.
Nice to get paid for pronouncing homilies.
Pokus Hokus
Not atoning for sins/ only pretending to
Entry requirement to become a member of the LDP or any other political party
Moonraker
Yes, sorry to the Japanese looking in but, as foreigners in Japan, we have had decades of hearing about the special characteristics of the people and culture, and using these banal ideas as ridiculous explanations or excuses for all kinds of behaviour. Forgive us if we are highly sceptical. Usually a simpler explanation is to be found based on the exercise of power and the perception of power, often called 'fear'. The power-mongers love to use ideology to keep the masses feeling better with their lot and love to seize on any 'nihonjinron' to support it. This is how things work, not just in Japan, I should add.
u_s__reamer
As other foreigners have pointed out, "atoning for sins" is a bogus concept used by Japanese authoritarians an ideological tool dressed up as a quasi-religious piety to gaslight subalterns into "knowing their place" and staying there. It's certainly not applicable to those Japanese who wield power as millions of victims of WW2 in Asia can attest.
HBJ
It might have only been applied in three cases 'officially', but I've witnessed the public deep executive bow on dozens of occasions, which, let's face it, is the 'unofficial' plea bargain and has been thriving for decades.
Aly Rustom
Moon- EXCELLENT POST! Couldn't agree more! Nice one Brother!
Another fabulous post!! Thank you reamer.
Nothing else for me to say here- moon and reamer NAILED IT!
u_s__reamer
"Atoning for sins" just describes the universal human emotion of guilt that arises in the brain of anybody with a functioning conscience, which doesn't necessarily result in any action by the person so afflicted, but is always seized upon and manipulated by those without a conscience to enhance their own power and influence. The Salem witch hunts and trials are a text book example..
thepersoniamnow
Actually sit, no we Japanese do not have these traits.
I think its a virtue that people here like to prode themselves on, but I feel liie we are some the biggest blame-passing, and definitely lacking responsibility as a society.
Bowing and mumbling apologises is not appropriate nor is it adequate.
Professor