What Discourages Participation in the Lay Judge System of Japan?

The lay judge system, a quasi-jury system, was introduced in Japan in May 2009. This article attempts to analyze Japanese people's attitude toward this system by examining whether they show a willingness to serve as a lay judge. The major findings from regression analysis are: (1) In general, people with a spouse are inclined to adopt a negative attitude about serving as a lay judge. This tendency is, however, not observed in large cities. (2) Long-time residents and homeowners are more likely to have a negative attitude about serving as a lay judge. These results show that a tight-knit interpersonal social network discourages people from serving as lay judges. Because of the lifetime secrecy obligation and the penalty provisions for those who break this obligation, people with closer interpersonal ties are under greater pressure and strains, which leads to greater psychological cost. The obligation and its penalty should be eased to improve attitudes about serving as a lay judge.