Top > What's up around the Prime Minister > November, 2004

The Fourteenth Meeting of the Office for Promotion of Justice System Reform Friday, November 26, 2004 The fourteenth meeting of the Office for Promotion of Justice System Reform was held in the National Diet Building. This committee, whose period of establishment will finish at the end of November, discussed the measures based on the Justice System Reform Promotion Law and the future undertakings. The major measures discussed included reform of the civil justice and criminal justice systems; creation of a justice system that meets the expectations of the people through such means as strengthening the capability of the system to deal with internationalization of the activity of attorneys; enhancement and strengthening of the structure that supports the justice system such as expanding the number of legal professions; and establishment of a national justice system infrastructure, including participation by citizens in the justice system. As for the undertaking for promotion of justice system reform after the dissolution of the committee, it was concluded that it is important to work to implement systems so that the people can come to realize the outcomes of the series of reforms to date and that it is necessary to continue to advance the reform. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said, "Over the past three years, we have drastically reformed the modality of the justice system in Japan for the first time in half a century. These changes included the acceleration of court proceedings, creation of a system for general legal assistance, establishment of a system to foster new legal professions and introduction of a jury system. It is vital to implement the system in line with the principle of the reform in order to realize a justice system that is accessible, speedy and reliable for the people."