I Just Didn't Do It (Soredemo boku wa yattenai)

**** out of *****

Japan, 2007

Genre: Documentary
Written and Directed by Masayuki Suo
Starring Ryo Kase, Asaka Seto, Kohji Yamamoto, Masako Motai

Japan's legal system, we are told in "I Just Didn't Do It", boasts a 99.9% conviction rate – only 1 in 1000 of those who face criminal charges are found not guilty (bearing in mind that most of those who are found guilty end up confessing to their crimes – an act which the
film suggests is strongly encouraged by the police, prosecutors and
even judges.
Defendants therefore can find the odds stacked against them – especially in an environment where trials are conducted without a jury by judges who can cross-examine witnesses and even introduce evidence, before deciding for themselves on the defendant's guilt or innocence, and handing out a sentence.

When we meet Teppei Kaneko, the protagonist of I Just Didn't Do It, he has been accused of groping a schoolgirl on a crowded Japanese train – a train so crowded he was pushed onto it by a conductor like someone packing too many shirts into an overstuffed suitcase. Kaneko maintains throughout that he could not have groped the girl, as he was attempting to free his jacket, which was caught in the train door – an assertion backed up by a witness. However, this witness is dismissed early on and disappears, unable to be found.

Kaneko is advised repeatedly – by the policeman who first interrogates him, by the public defender, and by the prosecutor – to confess to the groping and accept a small fine. Incensed by the idea that he should have to confess to a crime he didn't commit, Kaneko refuses. The prosecutor, convinced of his guilt despite a lack of evidence, is enraged, and commits the case to trial.

I Just Didn't Do It is a harshly critical examination of the Japanese legal system – a system where suspects are presumed guilty, rather than innocent, and where an acquittal means loss of face for both prosecutor and judge. Furthermore, rather than getting a copy of all
evidence held by the prosecution (discovery), defense lawyers must ask in court for any evidence they think the prosecution might have, with the judge having apparent discretion to refuse any request. Kaneko encounters all these iniquities and more on his journey through Japan's courts, at times brought