White paper on crime 2015 Part3/Chapter3
A public prosecutor must institute prosecution regarding a case referred to the public prosecutor by a family court if the prosecutor considers that there is sufficient suspicion to institute prosecution. The criminal procedure for prosecuted juveniles is basically the same as adults. A court shall, by a ruling, transfer a case to a family court if it is found appropriate to subject the juvenile defendant to protective measures as a result of the examination of the facts. If a juvenile is to be punished with imprisonment with or without work for a definite term, the juvenile must be given a sentence within the maximum and minimum imprisonment terms determined within the limit of said penalty (indeterminate sentence; the minimum and maximum terms cannot exceed 10 and 15 years, respectively) unless the execution of the sentence was suspended. If a person who is under 18 at the time of commission of an offense is sentenced to death, life imprisonment shall be imposed. If a person who is under 18 at the time of the commission of an offense is sentenced to life imprisonment, imprisonment with or without work for a definite term may be imposed. In this case, the term of imprisonment imposed shall be neither less than 10 years nor more than 20 years.