The Japanese Supreme Court has ordered a temporary halt to the practice of disposing of case files after it was revealed a number of family courts have discarded valuable materials related to juvenile cases, sources close to the matter said Wednesday.
In an order dated Oct. 25, the top court asked high, district and family courts to keep records even if they have reached the end of their mandated retention periods, citing the need to review whether historically valuable materials have been handled appropriately, they said.
The Supreme Court's regulations state that while records on incidents involving minors should be preserved until the individual reaches age 26, documents of historical value must be kept beyond the limit and in perpetuity under special preservation provisions.
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Japan family court disposed of records from 1997 serial killings by minor
But in October, the Kobe Family Court said it disposed of all records related to the ruling and investigation into a 1997 serial murder case involving a teen who killed two elementary school students and attacked three more.
Subsequently, other incidents of discarded case files came to light, including materials related to the 2004 stabbing murder of a sixth grader at a Nagasaki Prefecture school by a classmate and a 2006 incident in which a teenager torched his home in Nara Prefecture, killing his stepmother and his younger brother and sister.
The Supreme Court found in its survey of the country's family courts in October that only 15 cases were granted special preservation status, indicating that records related to a significant number of incidents that should have been kept in perpetuity have been discarded.
A top court expert panel is set to discuss the appropriate operation of special preservation provisions and how to store legal materials, with their first meeting expected to be held by year-end.
The panel will only look at storage of materials regarding civil and juvenile cases, as records of criminal cases are always stored by public prosecutors' offices after rulings are finalized.
