The conviction rate of suspects in Japan is 99.85 percent (as against around 80 percent in Britain and the United States). Is this because the police are so efficient—or so reluctant to admit a mistake? Is it because the accused assume they must have done something wrong—or because they’re pressured to act as if they did? Is it because prosecutors take on cases only if they expect to win—or simply because in Japan an arrested person is assumed to be guilty unless proven innocent?
