Japan enacts laws to introduce digital arrest warrants by FY 2026
The revisions of laws including the Code of Criminal Procedure are expected to ease the burden on investigators who currently must be physically present at court to apply for and receive warrants. Under the revisions, the slips can be requested and received online and executed by displaying them on tablet devices.
Criminal complaints, testimonies and other legal documents will also be digitized, and defense attorneys will have online access to documents they currently obtain by making hard copies following indictments.
The changes will also expand remote court participation via video link for defendants or witnesses unable to appear due to circumstances such as illness, and for victims and bereaved relatives seeking to avoid direct contact with defendants.
In Japan, video link use in court proceedings has been limited to certain cases such as sexual abuse.
The legislation will allow investigative authorities to issue online orders requesting telecommunications operators to disclose emails and other electronic data. At present, they need to visit the operators' offices and save the data onto physical memory devices when seizing them as part of investigations.
Failure by the operators to provide requested data would be penalized.
The revisions stopped short of allowing lawyers' interviews with suspects and defendants to be conducted online despite calls for introduction by the Japan Federation of Bar Associations.
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