刑事裁判と国民の法意識

抄録

It is said that the law-consciousness of the Japanese, when compared with that of the Europeans or Americans, is behind the times. This can be seen in the attitude the Japanese have toward the police. However, a case for the awakening of the Japanese law-consciousness can be made.
A Japanese person's thoughts and actions are strongly influenced by his own personal life environment and his neighborhood, therefore his law-consciousness is rights consciousness which is closely related to his own life. It is this consciousness which causes the Japanese to react immediately to criminal damage and wish the offender to be brought to justice. However, at the same time, this consciousness also causes the Japanese to react sensitively towards those people who are accidentally victims of the criminal procedures, people who are really innocent.
It is here, in this victim consciousness that we can see the budding of human rights consciousness.
Therefore, if the steady judgement of the Japanese people, which is based on their own lives, is used correctly in criminal trials in Japan, it will be of much benefit to the human rights of all of the Japanese people.