Photo/Illutration Naomi Unemoto, Japan’s first female top prosecutor, in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward on July 5 (Photo by Masaaki Kobayashi)

Naomi Unemoto, Japan’s first female top prosecutor, knows all too well that gaining a conviction is only one aspect of the criminal justice system.

She used to think her role “was over once a ruling had been issued in a trial.” But that was when she was just starting out with an eye to carving out a career as a prosecutor.

After being appointed as director-general of the Justice Ministry’s Rehabilitation Bureau, Unemoto, 62, had an opportunity to meet with upward of 100 individuals involved in the rehabilitation process; volunteer probation officers and employers willing to hire ex-cons, among others.

This experience brought home to her the reality that not only do those who commit crimes still have “lives afterward” but that many individuals in the private sector are there to provide support for them.

In the source of securing successive positions at the Human Rights Bureau, the Japan Legal Support Center and elsewhere outside of her investigative role, Unemoto found that her mindset as a fast-track prosecutor changed as the years went by.

“A vast world lies beyond the expertise of prosecutors,” she stated. “With this in mind, we must squarely tackle cases brought to us one by one.”

Given that prosecutors wield immense authority when it comes to indicting suspects, the public tends to closely monitor what the investigative organization is doing in criminal cases.

The impartiality of prosecutors and their ability to maintain a distance from politics at all times was called into question during the Abe administration following an unprecedented government move to extend the mandatory retirement of the superintending prosecutor.

As head of the Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office, Unemoto oversaw investigations into the recent slush funds scandal involving the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. The decision not to indict intraparty faction executives drew strong criticism.

Not long afterward, Unemoto was promoted to the key position of prosecutor-general.

Asked about prosecutors’ “relationships with politics,” Unemoto vowed “to keep a certain level of distance.”

“What is most important for prosecutors is never being beholden to any groups or parties,” she said.

In her free time, Unemoto enjoys jogging and traveling alone, because she can be at peace with herself.

Although Unemoto has been called “the first woman” to hold senior posts while moving up the prosecution career ladder, she is not comfortable with the label.

“I do not consider myself as a flag bearer for the women’s empowerment movement,” she said. “I was simply able to become what I am today as a result of working as an individual prosecutor.”

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