【A Serious Problem in Japan's Courts】 What does it mean when a Supreme Court justice has already condemned the defendant—before the case begins? The dissolution of the Family Federation (formerly the Unification Church) is one of the most important religious freedom cases Japan has seen in decades. One of the justices who will decide its future publicly criticized the group at a legal event, one year before she became a Supreme Court justice. She shared the stage with lawyers from a left-wing legal network that has spent decades trying to bring the Family Federation down. The seminar itself was built around condemning the group. A judge's most essential duty is impartiality. Without it, there is no justice—only a verdict written in advance. Japan has long been seen as a peaceful, law-abiding nation. But beneath that image lies a different reality: even its highest court is no longer certain to deliver fairness.
