Hopefully their time in a Japanese prison will be like an outtake from “The Story of Ricky”.
If you have never seen it, it is by far the best prison/martial arts/horror/sadism/monster/mean little spoiled fat boy/ultraviolence movie ever made. It is hilariously bad.
Spent three years “on the rock” (Okinawa) with my family. Two of the things about Japanese culture I really like. Respect for elders and a no nonsense legal system. They demand that you take responsibility for your actions, for instance if you run out of gas on the highway and block traffic you get a ticket for being an “unprofessional” driver. My family was safer off base out in town than on base which is a shame, but true.
If you are arrested and charged with a crime, your defense attorney is pretty much just there to help you show proper humility in court and “minimize” you sentence. Most Americans didn’t get it and screwed themselves. If found guilty you can appeal your case and the judge will listen patiently then when you are done will just ADD time to your sentence for wasting the courts time.
There are several people on “death row” for capital crimes and the good news is that the Japanese don’t execute many people each year. But, when they do they don’t tell the families ahead of time. They just show up at your cell one day and lead you off to be hung. They then notify the family. So every day when you wake up you don’t know if this is the day you are going to die.