Public Prosecutors Office (Japan)
The Public Prosecutors Office is the agency for conducting prosecution in Japan. It is an Extraordinary organ under the Ministry of Justice. It consists of four tiers of offices: the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office; the High Public Prosecutors Offices, the District Public Prosecutors Offices ; and the Local Public Prosecutors Offices.
History
In 1872, 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 hearings and collection of evidence was placed on pretrial judges. The prosecution department was attached to the courts in 1890.After the World War II, Japan enacted the new Constitution in 1946, which stipulates the principle of separation of powers, and thus, the prosecution department needed to be separated from the courts. The Public Prosecutor's Office Act, which established the current prosecution organisations, was enforced on the same day as the new Constitution, 3 May 1947.
People
Prosecutors
The law provides that the Public Prosecutors Office is where the work of public prosecutors 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.Prosecutor-General, Deputy Prosecutor-General and Superintending Prosecutors
The Prosecutor-General heads the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office. The Deputy Prosecutor-General 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 may give general directions on criminal investigation and trial to prosecutors, the Minister can direct only the Prosecutor-General regarding a specific case.The Superintending Prosecutors head the High Public Prosecutors Offices and supervise the staff within the jurisdiction.
The appointment and removal of these offices are decided by the Cabinet and attested by the Emperor.
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
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 bar exam#Japan and finished the legal apprenticeship., 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 Chief Prosecutor assigned among experienced Public Prosecutors.
Assistant 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 Prosecutors' Assistant Officers in the Public Prosecutors Office. They assist public prosecutors in conducting investigations and trials, and also carry out investigations themselves under public prosecutors' direction. Besides, 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 Supreme Public Prosecutors Office is located in Tokyo. It is the counterpart of the Supreme Court. It deals with criminal cases in which the High Courts' judgements have been appealed to the Supreme Court.Location
- 1-1-1, Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo
Executives
| Office | Executive | Date of appointment | Prior office |
| Prosecutor-General | :ja:稲田伸夫|Nobuo Inada | Superintending Prosecutor, Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office | |
| Deputy Prosecutor-General | :ja:堺徹|Toru Sakai | Superintending Prosecutor, Sendai High Public Prosecutors Office | |
| Director-General, General Affairs Department | :ja:畝本直美|Naomi Unemoto | Director-General, Inspection and Guidance Department, Supreme Public Prosecutors Office | |
| Director-General, Inspection and Guidance Department | :ja:小山太士|Taiji Oyama | Director-General, Criminal Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Justice | |
| Director-General, Criminal Affairs Department | :ja:落合義和|Yoshikazu Ochiai | Chief Prosecutor, Saitama District Public Prosecutors Office | |
| Director-General, Public Security Department | :ja:山上秀明|Hideaki Yamagami | Deputy Superintending Prosecutor, Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office | |
| Director-General, Trial Department | :ja:和田雅樹|Masaki Wada | Director-General, Immigration Bureau, Ministry of Justice |
High Public Prosecutors Offices
The High Public Prosecutors Offices are located in 8 major cities in Japan: Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Sendai, Sapporo and Takamatsu. 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.
| High Public Prosecutors Office | Superintending Prosecutor | Deputy Superintending Prosecutor | District Public Prosecutors Offices within the jurisdiction |
| Tokyo | :ja:黒川弘務|Hiromu Kurokawa | :ja:久木元伸|Shin Kukimoto | Tokyo, Yokohama, Saitama, Chiba, Mito, Utsunomiya, Maebashi, Shizuoka, Kofu, Nagano and Niigata |
| Osaka | Kazuo Sakakibara | :ja:畝本毅|Tsuyoshi Unemoto | Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Nara, Otsu and Wakayama |
| Nagoya | Makoto Hayashi | Yumiko Kawase | Nagoya, Tsu and Gifu |
| - Kanazawa Branch | Makoto Hayashi | Yumiko Kawase | Fukui, Kanazawa and Toyama |
| Hiroshima | Ryoichi Nakahara | Yuriko Tsunekawa | Hiroshima and Yamaguchi |
| - Okayama Branch | Ryoichi Nakahara | Yuriko Tsunekawa | Okayama |
| - Matsue Branch | Ryoichi Nakahara | Yuriko Tsunekawa | Tottori and Matsue |
| Fukuoka | Hiroshi Inoue | Takafumi Sato | Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Oita and Kumamoto |
| - Miyazaki Branch | Hiroshi Inoue | Takafumi Sato | Kagoshima and Miyazaki |
| - Naha Branch | Hiroshi Inoue | Takafumi Sato | Naha |
| Sendai | Ryotaro Oba | Miyuki Sato | Sendai, Fukushima, Yamagata, Morioka and Aomori |
| - Akita Branch | Ryotaro Oba | Miyuki Sato | Akita |
| Sapporo | Hiroshi Kataoka | Tomoaki Nitta | Sapporo, Hakodate, Asahikawa and Kushiro |
| Takamatsu | Yukio Kai | Hisashi Yoshida | Takamatsu, Tokushima, Kochi and Matsuyama |
District Public Prosecutors Offices
The District Public Prosecutors Offices are located in all the prefectural capitals and 3 large cities in Hokkaido 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 for serious cases. In particular, many well-known cases are prosecuted by the Special Investigation Department of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office.
| District Public Prosecutors Office | Chief Prosecutor | Location | Branches |
| Tokyo | Tetsuya Sogi | Chiyoda, Tokyo | Tachikawa |
| Yokohama | Atsushi Kitamura | Yokohama, Kanagawa | Kawasaki, Sagamihara, Yokosuka and Odawara |
| Saitama | Seiji Yoshida | Saitama, Saitama | Koshigaya, Kawagoe, Kumagaya and Chichibu |
| Chiba | Masamichi Kamimura | Chiba, Chiba | Sakura, Ichinomiya, Matsudo, Kisarazu, Tateyama, Yokaichiba and Sawara |
| Mito | Takashi Nishitani | Mito, Ibaraki | Hitachi, Tsuchiura, Ryugasaki, Aso and Shimotsuma |
| Utsunomiya | :ja:小野正弘 |Masahiro Ono | Utsunomiya, Tochigi | Moka, Otawara, Tochigi and Ashikaga |
| Maebashi | Akira Ozu | Maebashi, Gumma | Numata, Ota, Kiryu and Takasaki |
| Shizuoka | Hisashi Takahashi | Shizuoka, Shizuoka | Numazu, Fuji, Shimoda, Hamamatsu and Kakegawa |
| Kofu | Hiroshi Takeuchi | Kofu, Yamanashi | Tsuru |
| Nagano | Haruhiko Ukawa | Nagano, Nagano | Ueda, Saku, Matsumoto, Suwa, Iida and Ina |
| Niigata | Shinji Iwayama | Niigata, Niigata | Sanjo, Shibata, Nagaoka, Takada and Sado |
| Osaka | :ja:田辺泰弘|Yasuhiro Tanabe | Osaka, Osaka | Sakai and Kishiwada |
| Kyoto | Katsuhiro Hirokami | Kyoto, Kyoto | Sonobe, Miyazu, Maizuru and Fukuchiyama |
| Kobe | :ja:田中素子|Motoko Tanaka | Kobe, Hyogo | Itami, Amagasaki, Akashi, Kaibara, Himeji, Yashiro, Tatsuno, Toyooka and Sumoto |
| Nara | Hideyuki Yamaguchi | Nara, Nara | Katsuragi and Gojo |
| Otsu | Masayoshi Kimura | Otsu, Shiga | Hikone and Nagahama |
| Wakayama | Yukihiro Yamamoto | Wakayama, Wakayama | Tanabe, Gobo and Shingu |
| Nagoya | :ja:吉田安志|Yasushi Yoshida | Nagoya, Aichi | Ichinomiya, Handa, Okazaki and Toyohashi |
| Tsu | Yutaka Matsumoto | Tsu, Mie | Matsusaka, Iga, Yokkaichi, Ise and Kumano |
| Gifu | Kenzaburo Yazawa | Gifu, Gifu | Ogaki, Tajimi, Mitake and Takayama |
| Fukui | Takashi Ishii | Fukui, Fukui | Takefu and Tsuruga |
| Kanazawa | Makoto Uemura | Kanazawa, Ishikawa | Komatsu, Nanao and Wajima |
| Toyama | Takeru Tanojiri | Toyama, Toyama | Uozu and Takaoka |
| Hiroshima | Iwao Katayama | Hiroshima, Hiroshima | Kure, Onomichi, Fukuyama and Miyoshi |
| Yamaguchi | Nobuhiko Furuya | Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi | Shunan, Hagi, Iwakuni, Shimonoseki and Ube |
| Okayama | Tadatsugu Yamoto | Okayama, Okayama | Kurashiki, Niimi and Tsuyama |
| Tottori | Shunsuke Oka | Tottori, Tottori | Kurayoshi and Yonago |
| Matsue | Hiroshi Katsuyama | Matsue, Shimane | Izumo, Hamada, Masuda and Saigo |
| Fukuoka | Toshiaki Kataoka | Fukuoka, Fukuoka | Iizuka, Nogata, Kurume, Yanagawa, Omuta, Yame, Kokura, Yukuhashi and Tagawa |
| Saga | Fumihiko Koyuba | Saga, Saga | Takeo and Karatsu |
| Nagasaki | Hirotsugu Yoshiike | Nagasaki, Nagasaki | Omura, Shimabara, Sasebo, Hirado, Iki, Goto and Izuhara |
| Oita | Munio Nagahata | Oita, Oita | Kitsuki, Saiki, Taketa, Nakatsu and Hita |
| Kumamoto | Yasumasa Kimura | Kumamoto, Kumamoto | Tamana, Yamaga, Aso, Yatsushiro, Hitoyoshi and Amakusa |
| Kagoshima | Koji Ishizaki | Kagoshima, Kagoshima | Naze, Kajiki, Chiran, Sendai and Kanoya |
| Miyazaki | Toshiharu Kato | Miyazaki, Miyazaki | Nichinan, Miyakonojo and Nobeoka |
| Naha | Takashi Nakamura | Naha, Okinawa | Okinawa, Nago, Hirara and Ishigaki |
| Sendai | Kazuaki Morimoto | Sendai, Miyagi | Ogawara, Furukawa, Ishinomaki, Tome and Kesennuma |
| Fukushima | Yukinobu Hayakawa | Fukushima, Fukushima | Soma, Koriyama, Shirakawa, Aizuwakamatsu and Iwaki |
| Yamagata | Hiroko Matsushita | Yamagata, Yamagata | Shinjo, Yonezawa, Tsuruoka and Sakata |
| Morioka | Yasushi Iijima | Morioka, Iwate | Hanamaki, Ninohe, Tono, Miyako, Ichinoseki and Mizusawa |
| Akita | Mariko Suzuki | Akita, Akita | Noshiro, Honjo, Odate, Yokote and Omagari |
| Aomori | Makoto Takahashi | Aomori, Aomori | Goshogawara, Hirosaki, Hachinohe and Towada |
| Sapporo | Hideyuki Hayashi | Sapporo, Hokkaido | Iwamizawa, Takikawa, Muroran, Tomakomai, Urakawa, Otaru and Iwanai |
| Hakodate | Takashi Mori | Hakodate, Hokkaido | Esashi |
| Asahikawa | Toshiyuki Yamada | Asahikawa, Hokkaido | Nayoro, Mombetsu, Rumoi and Wakkanai |
| Kushiro | Hiroki Ozaki | Kushiro, Hokkaido | Obihiro, Abashiri, Kitami and Nemuro |
| Takamatsu | :ja:西村尚芳|Hisayoshi Nishimura | Takamatsu, Kagawa | Marugame and Kanonji |
| Tokushima | Masaaki Ozawa | Tokushima, Tokushima | Anan and Mima |
| Kochi | Koichi Takahashi | Kochi, Kochi | Susaki, Aki and Nakamura |
| Matsuyama | Isao Shiraki | Matsuyama, Ehime | Ozu, Saijo, Imabari and Uwajima |