【仁比聡平】えん罪と「再審法」改定～高市総理の認識を問う　2026.6.22【国会質問】

#Sohei Nihi's Questioning at the House of Councillors Budget Committee: Wrongful Convictions and the Revision of the "Retrial Law" - Questioning Prime Minister Takaichi's Recognition From the "Akahata" Newspaper Article Revision of the Retrial Law: Government Proposal Closes the Door to Relief from Wrongful Convictions - Nihi Demands Thorough Deliberation On the 22nd, at the House of Councillors Budget Committee, Representative Sohei Nihi questioned the proposed revision of the Retrial Law (Revision of the Code of Criminal Procedure). He argued that the government's proposal, which leaves the disclosure of evidence and appeals to prosecutors "up to the discretion of the prosecution," would "retrials for the relief of victims of wrongful convictions would remain an unopened door, a door of despair," and called for thorough deliberation of the bill. Representative Nihi pointed out that the repeated occurrence of wrongful convictions and the long struggles forced upon victims are due to the police and prosecutors' over-reliance on confessions and hostage justice, where confessions are forced according to a narrative and custody is not released until a confession is made. Furthermore, he pointed out that the prosecution ignored alibis and evidence that contradicted their narrative, sometimes even fabricating them, to conceal evidence of innocence as an organization, and continued to contest the not-guilty verdict. He demanded that "the retrial system, which should be the last resort for the court to correct the errors of the prosecution, need to be fundamentally changed, as it has been influenced by the judgment of the prosecution." Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi only stated that "the proposed amendment aims to make necessary improvements based on the current state of criminal justice. We will continue our efforts." However, the government's proposal risks regressing evidence disclosure by allowing prosecutors to appeal if there is "sufficient grounds," thus delaying the start of retrials. Regarding the Fukui case, Mr. Nihi criticized the prosecution for appealing the not-guilty verdict in the first trial, even though they had obtained an investigative report declaring the suspect innocent, and continued to appeal the decision to grant a retrial. He stated that a vast number of prosecutors, from those on the ground to top executives, had concealed evidence, including the report in question, for over 30 years. He argued that nothing would change even if the prosecution, which has been systematically concealing evidence of innocence, said it would "correct its ways," and demanded a thorough investigation.