Teen's death fuels fresh calls to overhaul Japan's 'hostage justice' system

The death of 16-year-old Runa, who died after an 18-day police detention, has sparked a lawsuit and renewed criticism of Japan’s practice of holding suspects for prolonged periods to extract confessions.

In June, 16-year-old Runa was taken into custody on allegations of assaulting a client, despite her insistence that she had only tried to stop the person from biting others. She was held for 18 days in a Hyogo police station, denied visits from her mother Nami and barred from having a lawyer present during interrogations. The detention caused severe weight loss and an eating disorder; she was released after the charges were dropped but died in December from cardiac arrest at a weight of 20 kg.

Her family has sued the state for 109 million yen, claiming the arrest lacked sufficient evidence and that the police pressured her to confess. MP Mori Masako, a former justice minister, labeled the practice “unthinkable” and urged reform of the 99 percent conviction rate, while Human Rights Watch highlighted the broader issue of prolonged pre-trial detention. The Ministry of Justice maintains that its procedures respect human rights, and local prosecutors say they will review the complaint once received.