Murder victims` kin urge gov`t to work swiftly on statute of limitations

TOKYO, May 3 Kyodo -
Relatives of murder victims who are critical of the statute of limitations for
homicide pressed Sunday for the state to move ahead with its study and to reach
a conclusion on abolishing the system ''as soon as possible.''
The call was made during the first meeting of the relatives' group and its
supporters in Tokyo, held a month after the Justice Ministry referred in its
interim report to four possible options that could be considered if Japan
decides to review the system.
''We hope that a decision to abolish the statute of limitations system will be
reached as soon as possible and that a law will be enacted (to that end),'' the
group said in a written plea read out in front of around 100 participants.
While calling for ''sufficient consideration'' on the issue, the group also
warned that it did not want to see time ''idly pass'' because of possible
heated discussions that could involve constitutional matters.
''The issue should not be shelved,'' the group said.
Meanwhile, nonfiction writer Kunio Yanagida said in a speech at the gathering
that the limitations system serves as ''an obstacle'' that hinders relatives of
crime victims as they try to overcome their sorrow and called for the creation
of a society that can share the viewpoints of the relatives.
A total of 17 bereaved relatives have joined the group, which is headed by
Yoshiyuki Miyazawa, a relative of a family of four that was found murdered in
2000 at their home in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward, a case which remains unsolved.
The options the Justice Ministry cited in its report include abolishing the
system, extending limitations periods and introducing a system to enable
prosecutors to indict suspects based on DNA evidence, even if their names are
unknown.
Japan sets a 25-year limitations period for capital crimes such as murder,
which was extended from 15 years in 2005 when the revised Code of Criminal
Procedure came into force.
==Kyodo