The Japanese government approved a bill to reform the country's retrial system during a cabinet meeting on Friday.

This legislative move seeks to ensure the retrial process functions more effectively as a means of extraordinary relief for the wrongfully convicted. By modifying the Code of Criminal Procedure, the government intends to remove systemic barriers that have historically delayed the exoneration of prisoners.

Justice Minister Hiraguchi said the reform is intended to make the retrial system function more appropriately as a means of extraordinary relief and that it carries very important significance.

The proposed bill introduces new regulations regarding the disclosure of evidence during retrial requests. Additionally, the measure aims to prohibit appeals by prosecutors against decisions to grant a retrial in principle [1]. These changes follow a process where the bill was revised three times [1].

Under current standards, the government conducts reviews of the system every five years [2]. This latest iteration reflects an effort to streamline the path to a new trial when new evidence emerges.

Despite the cabinet's approval, the path to enactment faces potential hurdles. While the government expects deliberations to begin in the National Diet within May 2026 [1], some reports indicate internal friction. The government previously informed the Diet of a plan to postpone the submission of the bill following opposition within the Liberal Democratic Party [3].

Further contradictions exist regarding the scope of the prosecutorial ban. While some reports state the bill will prohibit such appeals in principle [1], other commentary suggests the draft continues to allow prosecutors to file objections against retrial decisions [4].

“The reform is intended to make the retrial system function more appropriately as a means of extraordinary relief.”

This reform targets a long-standing criticism of the Japanese legal system: the ability of prosecutors to stall retrials through repeated appeals. If the ban on prosecutorial appeals and the new evidence disclosure rules are adopted, it could significantly accelerate the exoneration process for convicts and shift the balance of power toward the defense in extraordinary relief cases.