Overview

• About 40 criminal judges will gather at the Judicial Training Institute to exchange views on bail operations, with takeaways to be shared nationwide.
• The sessions will be non-public and will not revisit specific cases or assess individual judges’ past bail decisions.
• Expected discussion points include how to judge the risk of evidence destruction and the appropriate use of discretionary bail, as well as weighing health and social harms from detention.
• The initiative follows police and prosecutors releasing August reviews of the case while courts declined to verify bail decisions, and internal debates have intensified at local courts including Tokyo District Court.
• The Supreme Court is considering inviting external legal experts to deepen the discussions, and recent data show pre-judgment bail rates rose to about 33% in 2024 but remain harder to obtain for defendants who deny charges.