speedier, more democratic justice system, according to Eisuke Sato, the justice minister. The first trial by lay judge lasted four days, while some comparable criminal cases may last years under the old system. The historic trial of 72-year-old Katsuyoshi Fujii, who stabbed his 66-year-old neighbor to death, had substantial media attention. The selected lay judges must be voters, at least 20 years old, and possess a secondary-level education. Professional lawyers and politicians may not serve as lay judges in the new system. At least one judge must concur with the majority vote from the lay judges in regards to a guilty verdict; however, a majority not guilty verdict by the lay judges will stand. During the inaugural case, the citizens relied on the professional judges to help ascertain a sentence for the verdict decided upon, but felt confident in their interpretation of the trial arguments presented by the prosecution and defense. Conviction rate One of the main features of the Japanese criminal justice system well known in the rest of the world is its extremely high conviction rate, which exceeds 99%. Some in the common law countries argue that this is to do with the elimination of the jury system in 1943; however, trials by jury were rarely held as the accused had to give up the right to appeal. Lobbying by human rights groups and the Japan Federation of Bar Associations resulted in the passing of a judicial reform bill in May 2004, which introduced a lay-judge system in 2009, which is often confused with the jury system in common law countries. Japan's criminal justice system has been dubbed "hostage justice" (, ) by critics, due to the extended detention (up to 23 days) and forced questioning of detainees without a lawyer and no right to remain silent. In order to meet the high confession rate, Japan's justice system can cause more false confessions and wrongful convictions. Detention is not only used to ensure that suspects appear in court. Many legal procedures also violate the Constitution of Japan due to the right of physical freedom, the right to remain silent, and the right to a fair trial. Critics say prolonged detention and interrogations to force confessions violates the prohibition of torture. Some allege that international human rights are violated because there is no presumption of innocence, psychological torture is not prevented, and there are cases without access to counsel