Asahi Shimbun Morning Edition, October 9, 1999
Those who pass the highly competitive bar exam—where the odds are hundreds to one—enter the legal profession only to face a career filled with relentless challenges. Watching the classic television series Perry Mason makes it clear that diligent investigations and thorough evidence gathering are crucial in determining the outcome of a verdict. Whether a lawyer or a prosecutor, it is not just courtroom eloquence that matters; it is the ability to prove facts that ultimately guides a judge’s ruling.
Understanding what constitutes the truth is no easy task. This makes the stress unbearable at times. The prevalence of illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, and alcoholism appears to be higher among legal professionals compared to other occupations. When one is assigned to difficult or seemingly unsolvable cases for years, the result can be apathy, burnout, or, in extreme cases, suicidal impulses.
Psychiatrists, too, sometimes become involved in the judicial system. Every year, family courts request approximately 2,000 psychiatric evaluations to determine the mental and physical condition of individuals in cases concerning the financial competence of those with mental disorders. This is an arduous task, and many psychiatrists prefer to avoid it. Parliament is currently discussing whether such evaluations could be omitted if a judge deems them unnecessary. Psychiatrists also serve as expert witnesses in cases of work-related suicide, a phenomenon that has been on the rise in recent years. While striving for academic impartiality, they inevitably find themselves representing either the bereaved family or the corporation.
The 1998 film The Devil’s Advocate portrays a chilling narrative in which Al Pacino’s character, a law firm’s managing partner, is revealed to be the actual Devil. He recruits a talented young lawyer (played by Keanu Reeves) from a rural town with the lure of an exorbitant salary. Despite handling cases where the defendant's guilt is undeniable, Reeves’ character astonishingly secures acquittals one after another. However, the relentless stress takes its toll, leading him into a spiral of horrifying nightmares. In the end, tormented by his own emerging darkness, he chooses to end his life—yet the film ominously suggests his eventual return, making the story even more terrifying.
In an adversarial legal system, true neutrality is impossible. While I do not know the exact state of mental health among judges, prosecutors, and lawyers, as an expert witness, the only course of action is to provide an opinion based on what I personally believe to be the truth.
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