Woman and mother tried for murder of ex-boyfriend as ‘specified juvenile’.

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1. The Tokyo District Court sentenced an unemployed woman (20) to nine years in prison after she was convicted of murder for killing her former boyfriend, who lived with her, with a kitchen knife. She was 19 years old at the time of the offence, and the trial began with the publication of her actual name at the time of prosecution as a “specified juvenile” aged 18-19 under the revised Juvenile Act that came into effect in April last year. At the trial, he was treated in the same way as a normal adult aged 20 or over, but also showed his side as a child who has yet to become an adult.

   [Continue Reading (in Japanese)](https://www.sankei.com/article/20230108-ZASWMF46NRI2FLRENFSZCNG764/)

   Source: https://www.sankei.com/article/20230108-ZASWMF46NRI2FLRENFSZCNG764/

   Yahoo JP source: https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/f43f9fe23ff7d989873fcd25514e4f91741c73ec

2. Specified juveniles 18- and 19-year-olds to whom special provisions apply under the revised Juvenile Law that came into force on 1 April 2022. The measure was taken in conjunction with the lowering of the age of adulthood under the amended Civil Code, and although they are subject to the Juvenile Law, which is aimed at sound upbringing, the punishment is harsher than for those aged 17 and under. The number of cases to be sent back to the prosecutor by the family court has been expanded to include ‘crimes that cause death by intentional criminal act’ such as murder and manslaughter, as well as ‘crimes for which the minimum statutory penalty is one year or more imprisonment or imprisonment’ such as robbery and forcible sexual intercourse. In cases where a person is prosecuted, it is possible to make a presumption about the person’s identity, such as name, address and photograph (presumptive reporting).