1st video recorded of police questioning

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The National Police Agency announced Tuesday that trial video and audio recordings of police questioning had been conducted by the Chiba prefectural police as part of procedures to prepare for the lay judge system that will start in May.

Audio and video taping has been done by the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office since August 2006, but this was the first time that police have recorded part of a suspect's questioning.

The case subject to the trial recording is for a crime committed in the prefecture in August, the NPA said, which did not give details of the crime, but said it was a case serious enough to be subject to the lay judge system.

The questioning in an investigation room of a Chiba police station lasted about 20 minutes and was recorded on digital video.

A statement was read by an investigator to the male suspect to check if there were any errors. The police said they would send the DVD to the Chiba District Public Prosecutors Office.

Video recordings of police questioning also are to be tested sequentially in Osaka, Kanagawa and Saitama prefectures.