The is the agency for conducting

prosecution A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

in Japan. It is an under the . It consists of four tiers of offices: the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office; the High Public Prosecutors Offices (8), the District Public Prosecutors Offices (50); and the Local Public Prosecutors Offices (438).

History

1872 Events January * January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years. *January 20 – The Cavite mutiny was an uprising of Filipino military personnel of Fort S ...

, Japan introduced a modern prosecution system following the French system. The 1880 Act provided that public prosecutors had exclusive power of prosecution and it was enforced in 1882. However, the then system adopted

preliminary hearing In common law jurisdictions, a preliminary hearing, preliminary examination, preliminary inquiry, evidentiary hearing or probable cause hearing is a proceeding, after a criminal complaint has been filed by the prosecutor, to determine whether the ...

s and collection of evidence was placed on pretrial judges. The prosecution department was attached to the courts in 1890. After the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Japan enacted the new

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

in 1946, which stipulates the principle of

separation of powers The separation of powers principle functionally differentiates several types of state (polity), state power (usually Legislature#Legislation, law-making, adjudication, and Executive (government)#Function, execution) and requires these operat ...

, and thus, the prosecution department needed to be separated from the courts. The , which established the current prosecution organisations, was enforced on the same day as the new Constitution,

3 May Events Pre-1600 * 752 – Mayan king Bird Jaguar IV of Yaxchilan in modern-day Chiapas, Mexico, assumes the throne. * 1481 – The largest of three earthquakes strikes the island of Rhodes and causes an estimated 30,000 casualties. ...

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

People

Prosecutors

The law provides that the Public Prosecutors Office is where the work of is unified. It lays down five ranks of public prosecutors: the Prosecutor-General, the Deputy Prosecutor-General, the Superintending Prosecutors, Public Prosecutors and Assistant Prosecutors. The prosecutors' independence and impartiality are protected by law with some exceptions under Article 25 of the PPO, such as retirement age, physical/mental disability or supernumerary officials.

Prosecutor-General, Deputy Prosecutor-General and Superintending Prosecutors

The heads the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office. The belongs to the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office and assists the Prosecutor-General. The Prosecutor-General supervises all the staff of the Public Prosecutors Office. Although the

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

may give general directions on criminal investigation and trial to prosecutors, the Minister can direct only the Prosecutor-General regarding a specific case. The head the High Public Prosecutors Offices and supervise the staff within the jurisdiction. The appointment and removal of these offices (10 prosecutors) are decided by the Cabinet and attested by the

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

.Art 15(1). The retirement age of the Prosecutor-General is 65, while that of all the other prosecutors is 63, including the Deputy Prosecutor-General and the Superintending Prosecutors.

Public Prosecutors

are assigned to one of the Public Prosecutors Offices and engaged in prosecution. They have the power to investigate any crimes, as well as issue orders to the police about specific investigations. Also, they have the authority to prosecute criminal cases. The Japanese law allows a public prosecutor not to prosecute a suspect when the prosecution is unnecessary due to the circumstances such as his/her age or the gravity of the offence. A suspect will be prosecuted if and only if it is obvious based on evidence that he/she has committed a crime in question and the prosecutor finds it necessary to prosecute him/her. Public Prosecutors are usually appointed from those who have passed the and finished the . , 1,788 Public Prosecutors work for the Public Prosecutors Office, while 153 are posted to other ministries or agencies. Each District Public Prosecutors Office is headed by a assigned among experienced Public Prosecutors.

Assistant Prosecutors

are assigned to one of the Local Public Prosecutors Offices. They have the same authority to investigate and prosecute crimes as Public Prosecutors, though they usually deal with less serious cases. Assistant Prosecutors are appointed from those who were particular public officials such as prosecutors' assistant officers and police officers and have passed the exam to become assistant prosecutors. , 770 Assistant Prosecutors work for the Public Prosecutors Office.

Assistant Officers

There are more than 9,000 in the Public Prosecutors Office. They assist public prosecutors in conducting investigations and trials, and also carry out investigations themselves under public prosecutors' direction. They assume a wide-ranging role in the Public Prosecutors Office, including work related to prosecution, such as safekeeping of evidence, and general affairs, such as accounts.

Organisation

Supreme Public Prosecutors Office

The is located in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. It is the counterpart of the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. It deals with criminal cases in which the High Courts' judgements have been appealed to the Supreme Court.

Location

* 1-1-1,

Kasumigaseki Kasumigaseki (霞が関, 霞ヶ関 or 霞ケ関) is a district in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo. Most government ministries are located in the neighbourhood, making its name a metonym for the Civil service of Japan, Japanese bureaucracy, while Nag ...

, Chiyoda, Tokyo

Structure

The SPPO is structured as of 2021: * Secretariat ** General Affairs Department ** Inspection and Guidance Department ** Criminal Affairs Department ** Public Security Department ** Trial Department

Executives

, executives of the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office are as follows:

High Public Prosecutors Offices

The are located in 8 major cities in Japan: Tokyo,

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...

Fukuoka is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. ...

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households, making it the List of cities in Japan, twelfth most populated city in Japan. ...

Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...

and

Takamatsu file:Takamatsu City Hall.jpg, 270px, Takamatsu City Hall file:Takamatsu city center area Aerial photograph.2007.jpg, 270px, Aerial view of Takamatsu city center file:Takamatsu200910cut.JPG, 270px, View from Yashima to Takashima port is a capital ...

. Some of the High Public Prosecutors Offices have their branches. These locations correspond to those of the High Courts and their branches. The High Public Prosecutors Offices deal with criminal cases appealed to the High Courts. In addition, the Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office is responsible for the detention of a fugitive for the purpose of extradition upon a request from a foreign country.

District Public Prosecutors Offices

The are located in all the prefectural capitals (47) and 3 large cities in

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

besides Sapporo. Most of them have their branches. These locations correspond to those of the District and the Family Courts and their branches. Public prosecutors in the District Public Prosecutors Offices carry out investigations and trials of criminal cases. Most cases are referred to prosecutors by the police and other organisations such as customs, but some serious and complex cases are investigated by public prosecutors on their own. Some large District Public Prosecutors Offices have a dedicated investigation department (the or the ) for serious cases. In particular, many well-known cases are prosecuted by the .

Local Public Prosecutors Offices

The deal with criminal investigations and trials of less serious offences. There are 438 offices throughout the country. Their locations correspond to those of the Local Courts.

References

External links

* * * {{authority control Government agencies of Japan Extraordinary organs (Japan) 1947 establishments in Japan

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...