In 2006, a 16-year-old man was found at the Nara Family Court in Tawaramoto Town, Nara Prefecture. A year-old boy set fire to his home and killed three members of his family after it was destroyed.
What the Nara Family Court had discarded was a case in which a 16-year-old son, who was in his first year of high school at the time, set fire to his home in Tawaramoto Town, Nara Prefecture in 2006, killing his mother and two younger siblings. It's a record.
Records of general juvenile cases are stipulated to be preserved until the juvenile reaches the age of 26, but when the Supreme Court deems it necessary, such as cases that have attracted the attention of society nationwide, ``special preservation'' is permitted. As a general rule, we have instructed the courts of each country to preserve it permanently.
In this case, the doctor in charge of the juvenile's psychiatric evaluation showed a copy of the testimony to a freelance journalist, and was accused of leaking confidential information under the Criminal Code.
However, according to the Nara District Family Court, the juvenile's case record was discarded in March 2017 because the retention period had passed.
Regarding whether the disposal was appropriate, the company said, "I will not answer for individual cases."
In addition, he said, ``I don't know because I haven't investigated the circumstances'' why this incident was not ``specially preserved''.
At the Nara Family Court, there has never been a single juvenile case subject to "special preservation."
Regarding the preservation of records of juvenile cases, it became clear one after another that family courts around the country had discarded records of serious cases, such as the 1997 Kobe child serial murder case, and the response was appropriate. It is a situation that is questioned.