I do not like the Japanese legal system. I was compelled to deal with it while I was on Okinawa, and it scared the feces out of me with its seeming capriciousness and its utter lack of protections for the accused.

Nevertheless I think that it is presumptious of the US Gov't to declare the Japanese as unjust. They are a different culture. Let me say that again, in case y'all weren't listening: they are a different culture. This should be evident from the fact that they look different, talk different and correspondingly think different from us.

The criminal justice system for Japan works. Ask me how I know! Because they ain't changed it. If they did not like it, it would change. And since the crime figures in Japan (although on the rise) have yet to approach our own, I sense a certain measure of hypocrisy. This "one size fits all" approach to law is more than that, it might even be risky. I can think of no better way to throw a culture into chaos.

I would not want to live under a system of justice like that of the Japanese. Nor would I recommend that they consider adopting that legal system with which we are comfortable.

Facilis descensus Averno