Photo/Illutration A building that houses the Osaka High Court (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

OSAKA—The Osaka High Court on Sept. 3 upheld a guilty verdict against a Chinese woman but said she should not be held liable for fees she paid to interpreters for her trial.

The high court noted that the International Covenant on Human Rights, which Japan has ratified, guarantees defendants the right to free assistance of an interpreter, regardless of financial resources, due to the importance of interpretation in criminal trials.

“Laws should be interpreted to conform to the prevailing treaty,” the court said.

The Nara District Court found the woman, 43, guilty of theft and other crimes in a conspiracy with several others to buy goods with illegally obtained credit card information.

She was sentenced of two years and six months in prison, suspended for four years.

The woman appealed the verdict to the Osaka High Court, saying she was unaware that crimes were being committed.

She also took issue with the district court’s decision to hold her liable not only for her legal fees but also for travel expenses and daily allowances paid for Chinese interpreters.

The Code of Criminal Procedure states that defendants shall bear their legal costs, except for those who lack funds.

The Osaka High Court found no errors in the district court’s decision to convict the woman.

But it ruled that the legal costs borne by the defendant should not include the interpreters’ fees, unless the defendant was pretending to be unable to use Japanese.

According to Akiko Kuribayashi, a lawyer who specializes in court interpreting issues, the Tokyo High Court in 1993 recognized the right to free court interpreting as “unconditional and absolute.”

However, judicial decisions have since differed over this right, she said.

The Osaka High Court’s decision “has great significance in ensuring that this right is thoroughly enforced,” Kuribayashi said.

“Without an interpreter, certain trials would not be possible,” she said.

According to the Supreme Court, the number of defendants who needed a court interpreter in their first trials rose from 2,272 in 2013 to 3,852 in 2023.

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