Australian grandmother Donna Nelson was convicted today by a panel of three judges and six jurors of illegally transporting nearly two kilograms of drugs into Japan. She was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment.
As typically occurs when citizens of Western countries face trial in Japan, her case has provoked condemnation of Japan’s so-called “hostage justice” system – and particularly its 99% conviction rate.
Like all countries, Japan’s criminal justice process has many objectionable features. One is its extremely lengthy pre-trial detention, almost always without bail. Nelson’s ran to nearly two years. This certainly warrants critique, although this period will be discounted from her sentence.
