And the Japanese judge attends the trial on the state-mafia negotiation

He took notes throughout the hearing and listened to the interrogation of a Mafia repentant with the help of an interpreter. For Satoru Uchida , 38, a judge of the Tokyo Supreme Court , it is the first organized crime trial . In service at the research office, he has been in Italy for months to understand how our judicial system works .

After the stops in Rome and Florence yesterday he took part in the debate on the State-Mafia negotiation in Palermo . A completely new world for Uchida who was a criminal judge in Fukushima before arriving at the Supreme Court. “ I had never heard of this story – he explained to reporters – I followed the cross-examination of the collaborator of justice, but I understood very little “.

From the jokes exchanged on the sidelines of the hearing it is easy to understand that the Japanese procedural system is very different from the Italian one . Just think of the average length of criminal trials. “ In the first instance – he explains – a hearing lasts about three months: and overall, a maximum of 6 months to a year pass until the final sentence is given “. “ In Japan – he says – there are about 5,000 judges, but only 20,000 lawyers and litigation is very limited ”. When asked if the Yakuza, the strong Japanese mafia, has infiltrations in politics and institutions, Uchida replies with a smile: " we don't know. As it has never happened that crime has dealt with the state". “They can make agreements with each other – he explains – between criminal factions, but not with the institutions ". In Japan there is not even a differentiated prison system, such as the Italian 41 bis, for bosses. Nor videoconferencing born in Italy to avoid the so-called judicial tourism of the mafia bosses. “ It would not be fair – he says – for the defendants. We are thinking about it for witnesses to save time and money ."

I doubt, as Uchida said, that Yakuza has not links with politicians and Institutions