ABSTRACT
On August 3, 2009, Japan experienced its first jury-like trial in over 65 years. The media hype around the event was significant; the story led the television, print, and Internet news for a week.1 Enacted five years earlier in May 20042 after a long gestation period, the government promotes the new system and its objectives of delivering better justice and more civic engagement of the populace (Anderson and Ambler 2006). The question debated by everyone from housewives to Supreme Court justices with the new system is simple: will the Japanese people embrace direct lay participation-this time?3
