What happened today in Japan

A new judicial system started today. This is the first time a jury is convened since the end of the last war, and a second time since the Meiji restoration. There was a brief period before the war when a few trials involved a jury, a historical fact relatively unknown to people today. The new system is meant to let citizens participate in the judicial process. Personally I see no point in this. There should have been other priorities for judicial reforms that could have been put into effect earlier, like getting rid of the statute of limitations for serious crimes, life in prison without parole as an alternative to death penalty, and so forth. 

 A case of a stalker turned killer. A 41-year-old man stabbed a 21-year-old girl he's been stalking and her grandmother age around 80 in Minato Ward, Tokyo this morning. The grandmother is dead and the girl is in critical condition. This is a second such stalker crime in the past few months in Japan. The girl was working in an ear-cleaning parlor where he met her as a customer. Ear-cleaning parlors are a relatively new business emerging in Japan, catering mostly to men who seek relaxation and comfort. Customers have their ears cleaned by female service providers, while resting their heads in the girls' laps. .