2003 JAPAN LAW: LIMITATIONS ON STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.
Keywords: Statute of Limitations, Murder, Police
Copyright 2004. All rights reserved Attorney Roderick H. Seeman
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In a truly bizarre case, an inmate of a prison in Japan confessed to a murder while he was in prison on drugs charges. He sent a letter to the local police station in 2000 confessing to a murder in 1980. The letter was sent just after the statute of limitations expired. The statute of limitations for criminal cases in Japan as 15 years, while that for civil cases is 20 years in murder cases. The police sent the letter to the local prosecutors but they could do nothing due to the timing. The family of the murdered party could also not seek redress for the same reason. Some were angry however, as the police limited their search, calling the case a suicide even the dead man tied up in ropes. In October 2004, the same inmate was released from prison having finished out his drug case punishment.