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Interrogation of Criminal Suspects in Japan - the introduction of Electronic Recording - December 2004

In November 2003, the IBA sent a mission to Japan to investigate and make recommendations on the introduction of electronic recordings of police interrogations. The mission was a response to a newly established working group set up by the Japanese Federation of Bar Assosiations (JFBA) on the recording of interrogations. The IBA's recommendations built upon the findings of a 1995 report on the Daiyo Kangoku system of police custody.

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Report on the Daiyo Kangoku (Substitute Prison) System of Police Custody in Japan - April 1995

In 1994, a representative of the IBA travelled to Japan to investigate the Daiyo Kangoku system of police custody. The Daiyo Kangoku system and its place in Japanese society has been of grave concern to the international legal community for a number of years. The 1994 mission found that the facilities of the system, which can be literally translated as 'substitute prison system',  frequently fall below the standards required by international norms.