Chapter 2  Prosecution

  Public prosecutors offices handle the work of public prosecutors. They are divided into four types: the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office corresponding to the Supreme Court; High Public Prosecutors Offices corresponding to High Courts; District Public Prosecutors Offices corresponding to District Courts and Family Courts; and Local Public Prosecutors Offices corresponding to Summary Courts.
  Japan adopts the principle of prosecution by the state. Prosecution by private individuals is not permitted, and the right to prosecute is granted exclusively to public prosecutors (the concept of monopolization of prosecutions), with the only exception of the “quasi-prosecution procedure”. A system under which prosecution can be instituted based on a resolution of the Committees for the Inquest of Prosecution in certain cases was newly introduced and is scheduled to be enforced on May 21, 2009 (see Part 5, Chapter 2, Section 1, 1).