Abstract: Japanese law recognizes a right to remain silent, but judges have throttled it by constructing a “duty to endure interrogation” that enables police and prosecutors to continue questioning suspects after the right has been invoked. All too often the result is false confessions, wrongful convictions, and violations of human autonomy and dignity. Among developed democracies, Japan seems to stand alone in its insistence that the right to silence coexist with a duty to endure prolonged interrogation, but this duty is being challenged by the Right Against Interrogation Society (RAIS), an organization of defense lawyers and citizens who are pushing for reform.
Keywords: right to silence, duty to endure interrogation, Japanese criminal justice, judges, police, prosecutors
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