Japanese courts are organized according to the French system, with some modifications along German lines. They are four in kind, from the Local Court, through the District or Provincial Court, and the Court of Appeal, up to the Supreme Court. The local courts have jurisdiction over police offences and some minor crimes; the district courts conduct preliminary investigations and have jurisdiction over crimes; the courts of appeal hear new trials; while the supreme court hears criminal appeals on matters of law. Japanese courts are very solemn places, with strict regulations as to costume, ceremony, and conduct. The Japanese judiciary is, by this time, pretty much weeded out of the old judges with antiquated notions, and consists very largely of comparatively young men, educated in the modern systems. A graduate of the Law College of the Imperial University may attain a seat on the bench after three years as a probationary judge, and one examination; other persons must pass two severe examinations. The salary of an ordinary judge is small; and just after the Imperial Diet in 1901 had failed to pass a bill for increase of their salaries, a large number went on a strike! Judges are appointed for life on good behavior. [Illustration: COURT BUILDINGS, TŌKYŌ, AND THE MINT, ŌSAKA] The management of the Japanese prison system will bear favorable comparison with that of any Western country; for it has undergone considerable improvement of recent years, and is quite up to date. It is rather amusing to recall the fact that, before the new treaties came into effect, by which foreigners were to fall under Japanese jurisdiction, considerable anxiety was manifested lest American criminals, for instance, should suffer inconvenience in Japanese jails! And it was a singular coincidence that the first crime committed after the midnight when those treaties went into effect was by an American, who committed a triple murder in Yokohama. But the trial and treatment of Miller showed to the world that Japanese law and prisons were entirely unworthy of the captious criticism that had been passed upon them. With commodious buildings, extensive grounds, ventilated rooms, gardens and shops for laborers, hospitals for the sick, bath privileges, wholesome food, reading matter under certain limitations, rewards for good behavior, part pay for labor, the Japanese prison, especially the largest ones at Tōkyō, Yokohama, and other important cities, must be acknowledged to hold high rank among the reformatory institutions of the world.