Japanese freaking out about jury duty

In May 2009, Japan will adopt a jury-style system to settle criminal cases—the first time since 1943. But rather than feeling empowered by the prospect of participating directly in Japan's traditionally opaque justice system, 80 percent of Japanese are dreading the change and do not want to serve as jurors.

In the 500 mock trials that have been held across the country to help people get used to the idea of serving on juries, most participants have been left feeling stressed and overwhelmed. Robert Precht, an American defense lawyer who has been advising the Japanese on how the American jury system works, is concerned about how the Japanese will react to the new system:

I think people are seriously going to start panicking next year, as citizens actually face the very real possibility of being summoned, and then have to go into this very strange environment, speak in front of authority figures and actually be questioned about their own opinions. And I'm concerned that's going to freak people out."

Japanese jurors will actually sit on the bench next to judges and decide cases with them, in contrast to the U.S. system where juries are separated from judges. In a culture where "to not speak is considered a virtue" and respect for authority is deeply valued, this change will clearly take a great deal of getting used to. But given Japan's 99.8 percent criminal conviction rate, which is widely seen as the result of forced confessions, any change toward greater transparency is probably a good thing.