In 2005, the Joso appeal rate (the rate of persons who filed Joso appeals (Koso appeal and leapfrog procedure) among persons finally disposed excluding those for whom dismissal of prosecution was decided or a request for formal trials was withdrawn) was 10.5% against judgments by district courts and 5.1% by summary courts, which were more or less at the same level as the previous year. The number of Koso appeal defendants finally disposed by high courts in 2005 was 9,264, out of which 8,995 were appealed by the defendant's side, 181 were by public prosecutors, 85 were by both sides and three were by "reversal and remand/transfer" (Source: Annual Report of Judicial Statistics).
  Table 2-3-1-4 shows the final dispositions of Koso appeal cases in high courts by type of offense in 2005.

Table 2-3-1-4  Number of defendants finally disposed in Koso appeal trials, by type of offense (2005)

  Dismissal of appeal accounted for the largest portion at 65.4%, followed by withdrawal of appeal (21.0%) and original judgment reversed (new judgment) (13.1%).
  Out of the total of 1,230 defendants whose judgments were reversed at high courts, a majority of 707 were due to circumstances after the original judgments, followed by inappropriateness of sentencing with 306 and error in fact-finding with 136. As a result of new judgments, 12 defendants were found not guilty (Source: Annual Report of Judicial Statistics).
  In 2005, out of 35 defendants for whom public prosecutors filed Koso appeals against the not-guilty judgments in the first instance, 25 were found guilty (Source: Annual Report of Statistics on Prosecution).
  The Jokoku appeal rate against judgments made by Koso appeal trials (the rate of persons who filed Jokoku appeal among persons finally disposed excluding those for whom dismissal of appeal or dismissal of prosecution was decided or a request for formal trials was withdrawn) in 2005 was 33.6%, higher than the Joso appeal rate against those of the first instance.
  The Supreme Court made final dispositions on 2,828 defendants of Jokoku appeals (including those whose first instance was carried out by high courts). The breakdown of this number was 2,185 (77.3%) for dismissal of Jokoku appeals, 637 (22.5%) for withdrawal of Jokoku appeals, six for dismissal of prosecution. There were no cases for new judgment or for reversed and remanded (Source: Annual Report of Judicial Statistics).