Is it really not safe to extradite someone to Japan?

In November 2015 three men entered a jewellery shop in Tokyo’s upmarket Omotesando district, beat and injured a security guard, smashed a showcase and stole 100 million yen’s (£600,000) worth of goods. The suspects identified by the police fled to the UK, where, after the intercession of Interpol, they were arrested. Japan, unsurprisingly, wants them back. But in the absence of an extradition treaty with the UK it needed to make a special request. Last week, the extradition request for one of the men was turned down – with the court noting that the suspect’s human rights could not be guaranteed by the Japanese criminal justice system.  

This is on its face a gross insult to Japan. It is a first world country, G7 member and long-standing partner and ally. Yet apparently it can’t be trusted to provide a fair trial. In particular, the suspect had claimed that if extradited he would be made to confess under duress, and the court appears to have agreed.