KYOTO – A man accused of carrying out an arson attack on a Kyoto Animation studio in 2019 that claimed 36 lives admitted to charges of arson and murder as his lay judge trial opened in the Kyoto District Court on Sept. 5.
Since we have 人質司法 and also the possibility of repeated detention even without evidence (there is no presumption of innocence here and instead one has to prove oneself innocent), I would be very cautious. After the interrogation, the length of which is more or less limited here, but only within one session and that and can be repeated over and over again, it is possible to confess to anything. Especially if the prosecutor here is above the court. This is certainly not to dispute the act or the possible innocence or guilt of the person in question. Only on the state of affairs. Because, we all know the sacred and holy 99% conviction rate here.
The accused admitted to the charges, but his defense team calls for acquittal or reduced sentence arguing he was not mentally competent at the time.
