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Cited by 2Legal processes and jurisprudenceCriminal Law and EvidenceCriminal Justice and Penology

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An Innocent Man: Hakamada Iwao and the Problem of Wrongful Convictions in Japan

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Johnson, David T.·2015·Asia-Pacific Journal
DOI 10.1017/s1557466015017179
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Abstract

A criminal case can go wrong in two main ways. A person who committed a crime can escape punishment, or a person can be convicted and punished for a crime he or she did not commit (Simon, 2012, p.4). Every criminal justice system makes mistakes of both kinds, but most cultures and criminal justice professionals believe that the worse mistake is the false conviction of a person who is actually innocent (Huff and Killias, 2008). As jurist William Blackstone observed, “it is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer.” An aversion to convicting the innocent is also well established in Japan's legal culture. Indeed, the main proximate cause of Japan's high conviction rate may be the institutionalized caution of Japanese prosecutors about charging cases with evidence that could lead to an acquittal (Johnson, 2002, p.237). On this view, the criminal justice system in Japan might convict fewer innocent people than do systems in countries that adopt more aggressive charging policies (Sasaki, 2000).

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Metadata

Authors
Johnson, D. T.
Corresponding author
Johnson, David T.
ORCID
Johnson, David T.
Venue
Asia-Pacific Journal
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Published
2015-02
Volume
13
Issue
50
ISSN
1557-4660 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1017/s1557466015017179
OpenAlex
W4408533839
Cited by
2
References
0
Citations by year
2022: 1 · 2017: 1
FWCI
4.56
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
Japan focus (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Law › Legal processes and jurisprudence
  • Social Sciences › Law › Criminal Law and Evidence
  • Social Sciences › Law › Criminal Justice and Penology
Keywords
wrongful convictions, false convictions, Japanese criminal justice, acquittal, conviction rates, legal culture

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: An Innocent Man: Hakamada Iwao and the Problem of Wrongful Convictions in Japan. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1017/s1557466015017179
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Johnson, D. T. (2015). An Innocent Man: Hakamada Iwao and the Problem of Wrongful Convictions in Japan. Asia-Pacific Journal. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1557466015017179