JAPAN: Japanese film tells the story of a man accused of groping a school girl on a packed Tokyo commuter train, a tale based on real events

Crammed onto a notoriously packed Tokyo commuter train on the way to a job interview, Teppei Kaneko is horrified when a schoolgirl accuses him of groping her. An embarrassing scene on the platform leads to the police station, weeks of interrogation and indictment on flimsy evidence for 26-year-old Kaneko, who goes on to maintain his innocence throughout a lengthy trial. It is a nightmarish scenario for a film -- especially one directed by Masayuki Suo, previously best known for his comic take on mid-life crisis relieved by ballroom dancing in "Shall We Dance?", an international hit that inspired a Hollywood remake. "I Just Didn't Do It," Suo's first film in 11 years, was inspired by a real-life case in which a man was wrongly convicted of groping and imprisoned for 14 months, only succeeding in getting the verdict overturned two years later. "This movie is about a very extreme case of Japan's criminal lawsuits, but in any country, there's a judicial system in which people pass judgement on other people," Suo told a news conference in Tokyo Thursday. "By making this movie, I wanted to share our experience with other countries and learn from each other." The movie hit Japanese theatres in late January, and the film director is hoping to take it overseas again. "This kind of incident never happened to people around me but I think it could happen, 30-year-old Toshihiko Shimizu, an accountant, said after watching the movie at a Tokyo theatre. To some women, the movie seems to give mixed feelings. "When I'm in a crowded train, it's hard to tell if someone is touching me intentionally. I try not to pay attention. But I've seen some men groping women first-hand," said Nao Ohno, a 25-year-old salesperson. About 99.9 percent of indictments lead to convictions in Japan, an astounding success rate that critics say is a symptom of problems in the criminal justice system. The U.N. Human Rights Committee has twice recommended that Japan introduce changes, expressing deep concern over the fact that suspects may be detained for 23 days without charge. Most criminal trials are based on confessions extracted during this detention period, during which no sound or video recordings are made.

ITN Source | February 8, 2007

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