Arrested is not the same as convicted. I lived in Japan for a few years, and I have heard of similar situations to what the article describes.

In Japan you can be arrested while an investigation is in process, only afterwards you will be indicted. Additionally, Japan does not permit defendants to post bail prior to an indictment.

Yes Japan has a really high conviction rate, but that is because they indict only cases were a conviction is likely.

Arrests don't need to lead to the person being indicted.

It's actually not. You can be arrested and then released without charges, which is not a conviction but does not factor into the conviction rate statistic.

Not surprising if you can detain people for long periods under harsh conditions without charging them.

If they confess, it counts as a win. If they don’t, you release them but it’s not a loss (as they were not charged).

The author doesn't seem to have been charged with anything, so her release doesn't affect the 'conviction rate' - but she was arrested.

By comparison, you might consider https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/06/14/fewer-tha... :

> In fiscal year 2022, only 290 of 71,954 defendants in federal criminal cases – about 0.4% – went to trial and were acquitted

> Japan has a conviction rate of 99.8%

So does the US.

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/06/11/only-2-of...

Of charges, not arrests.

And your point is?