Those of you who played the 4th Ace Attorney (逆転è£åˆ¤) game would be aware of the new jury system being implemented in Japan, first proposed in cabinet review committee in 2001 and subsequently passed into law in 2004.
After five years of policy fine-tuning and mock trials, Japan held its first post-war jury trial on Monday. The system consists of a hybrid of six layman jury members (è£åˆ¤å“¡) and three professional judges (è£åˆ¤å®˜) and is reserved for serious crimes such as murder. A majority opinion has to be supported by at least one of the three judges in order to stand.