Adam Engelhart

There are duty attorneys for times like this!

July 1st, 2008

So I posted about Phoenix Wright, Ace Attorney a while ago, and I recently found the game on Verizon’s hideously maimed walled-garden of a software site. I decided it’d be worth the $5 or whatever, and you know, it’s pretty fun! It’s definitely a true adventure game–there’s only one way to get through it, which makes the gameplay more like an interactive novella than a role-playing game–but it’s fun for what it is. The replay value is next to zero, though.

However, I’m actually writing about a website I came across earlier today, specifically that of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations. You may wonder what to do if you are arrested in Japan, but never fear! There are duty attorneys for times like this!

In truth, the protections that suspects get in Japan are markedly less than the ones in the States (for example, you can be held without charges for 23 days), and people are far less likely to take advantage of them. However, the fact that the organization that offers the duty-attorney service has a cute manga informing prospective clients of the service is just adorable to my Western eyes.

Anyway, this also goes towards explaining how the Phoenix Wright justice system could seem plausible. From the States, it seems ludicrously Draconian to have, for example, trials limited to three days or the insane burden-of-proof provisions you see in the game, but I think it looks slightly more reasonable in Japan. That said, it’s just a game, and I should really just relax.

Entry Filed under: Culture,Law