Does the Difference Between "Corporate interest" and "Personal interest" in Corporate Crime Influence Sentencing? (in Japanese) -Econometric Analysis of Sentencing Factors in the Corporate Tax Evasion

Based on the fact that corporate crime has two types of motives-"corporate interest"and "personal interest"-court decisions often suggest that the type of motive a defendant had may affect sentencing. This paper verifies such an effect on corporate tax evasion cases including in "corporate interest"and "personal interest"cases by extracting factors from written judgments and utilizing econometric analysis. We found (1) in determining the appropriate punishment, judges integrate imprisonment term and suspension term, (2) "corporate interest" has a negative effect on sentencing, (3) the volume of tax evasion has a positive effect on sentencing and (4) the ratio of tax evasion has a positive effect on sentencing. We think that the result is reasonable from a social standpoint and preceding studies but is not justifiable from a standpoint of crime deterrent. Therefore, we argue that we should rethink criminal liability and crime deterrents in sentencing theory in cases of corporate crime. Moreover, we expect econometric analysis to play a significant role in sentencing, which will contribute enhanced transparency in criminal justice procedures and in sentencing, especially in the jury system introduced in 2009.