午夜剧场

The current Penal Code is a historical law established in 1907. However, the question of whether the human spirit is protected by criminal law, and whether causing impairment to mental functions should be evaluated as "injury" under criminal law, has only begun to be consciously discussed relatively recently.

In criminal trials (though there were previous cases disputing whether depressive states constituted injury), cases where the evaluation of PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) became an issue began to appear more frequently around the year 2000. This is likely related to the fact that PTSD became widely known in society following the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake and the Tokyo subway sarin attack. In 2012, the Supreme Court also recognized that impairment of mental functions constitutes injury under criminal law in a case where a victim of confinement developed PTSD.

This judgment is supported by the prevailing academic view, and I believe it is appropriate. However, taking this position leads to the following problem: it is not uncommon for us to experience (or unknowingly inflict) mental stress in our daily lives. If all such instances were to constitute injury, multiple counts of (negligent) injury could be established between the time one leaves home and returns, making it impossible to communicate freely with others. To avoid such a situation, it is necessary to appropriately distinguish between impairment of mental functions that qualifies as injury and mental stress that does not.

Furthermore, the Supreme Court upheld a conviction for the crime of injury in a case where a defendant caused symptoms such as sleep disorders by subjecting a neighbor to continuous noise day and night for approximately six months.

This judgment is understood and supported as demonstrating that mental stress can also be a means or cause of injury. However, mental impact has the potential to reach a wider range of people compared to physical impacts like hitting or kicking. For example, in cases of domestic violence, the victim of the assault is the spouse, but a child who witnesses it also suffers a mental impact.

In the past, it seems there were aspects where the protection of the mind was insufficient compared to the body, and psychological impacts were undervalued. While this point must be fully discussed and overcome, measures to avoid excessive criminalization are also required at the same time.