November 26, 2015
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2015 November 25 - December 1 [POLITICS]
JCP Koike criticizes gov’t policy to toughen penalties for juvenile offenders |
Along with the revised Public Offices Election Law which lowered the voting age from 20 to 18, the Abe administration intends to lower the maximum age of people subject to the Juvenile Law as well. If the upper limit is lowered, juvenile delinquents aged 18 and 19 will receive heavier punishments as “adult convicts”.
At the rally, JFBA Vice President Hirayama Hideo said that juvenile delinquency is on the decrease. He stressed that there is no need to revise the law, noting that the educational and humanitarian treatment of juvenile offenders based on the existing act has helped to prevent recidivism and assisted them to return to society.
In his speech given in solidarity, Koike described the JCP view on this issue.
He referred to the fact that 40% of an annual total of about 120,000 juvenile delinquents are aged 18 and 19 and that most of their charges are minor offenses such as fighting, shoplifting, and bicycle theft. He went on to point out that if the age group between 18 and 19 is excluded from the application of the juvenile act, they will only face punishment and be left without receiving any rehabilitative care.
The JCP lawmaker also noted that the number of cases of bullying and child abuse is increasing as more people are forced into poverty. He emphasized that it is totally unacceptable for the government to decrease efforts to prevent juvenile delinquency and rehabilitate young offenders by lowering the maximum age.
Koike said that he will work together with concerned citizens, including the JFBA, to foil the government move.
Past related article:
> Lawyers’ group opposes stiffer penalties for young offenders [January 24, 2015]
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