In response to the issue of the destruction of records of juvenile cases and civil trials that attracted social attention, such as the Kobe child serial murder case that occurred 26 years ago, were being destroyed by courts in various places, the Supreme Court released a report on the 25th that summarized the history of the destruction and how it should be preserved. He apologized, saying, "I deeply regret that I have lost many records that will be passed on to future generations," and that he will systematically share that it is the property of the people.
In response to the discovery of the destruction of records of serious cases in various places, the Supreme Court established an expert committee to investigate the background of about 100 juvenile cases and civil trials.
At the press conference for the release of the report, Shinya Onodera, Director General of the Supreme Court's General Affairs Bureau, apologized, saying, "This series of problems stems from the Supreme Court's inappropriate response, and I deeply regret the loss of many records that will be passed on to future generations, and apologize to the public, including those involved in the incident."
The report states that the manager in charge consulted with several managers, including the director at the time, but no one made a clear judgment on the circumstances under which the records of the Kobe incident, which triggered the discovery of the problem, were destroyed, and that "it shows the reluctance to preserve the special preservation and the strong recognition that records are destroyed in principle."
Regarding the fact that records of serious incidents, including the Kobe incident, were not designated as "special preservation" to be permanently preserved, he pointed out the problem that "the idea of keeping them for case processing and destroying them when the period expires was fostered within the organization."
And the cause of this was that the Supreme Court had issued a message that "efforts should be made to prevent the expansion of special preservation," and it was "truly inappropriate."
In addition, regarding the response of the Oita District Court to the destruction of the records of six civil trials designated as "special preservation," the person in charge made a mistake in entering the system, etc., and will consider reviewing the administrative procedures.
As for future responses, "it is necessary to preserve records as common property of the people and pass them on to future generations," and in order to systematically share that records with historical and social significance are included, in addition to clearly stating the "significance of preservation" in the regulations, ▽ reviewing the criteria for designating special preservation and the timing of judgment, It means considering setting up a permanent third-party committee to hear the opinions of experts.
At the press conference, Director-General Onodera stated, "As an organization, we originally had no intention of leaving records for future generations, and judges and other staff members must change their mindset."
On the other hand, regarding the punishment of those involved, he only stated that "we will take appropriate measures based on the report."