When a case is punishable by the death penalty, life imprisonment, or imprisonment whose maximum term exceeds three years, the trial may not be convened without the attendance of defense counsel.
死刑又は無期若しくは長期三年を超える拘禁刑に当たる事件を審理する場合には、弁護人がなければ開廷することはできない。
If the court may not be convened without defense counsel, and the defense counsel has not appeared at court or is no longer present in court, or defense counsel has not been appointed, the presiding judge must appoint defense counsel ex officio.
弁護人がなければ開廷することができない場合において、弁護人が出頭しないとき若しくは在廷しなくなつたとき、又は弁護人がないときは、裁判長は、職権で弁護人を付さなければならない。
If the court may not be convened without defense counsel, and there is the risk that the defense counsel will not appear at court, the court may appoint defense counsel ex officio.
弁護人がなければ開廷することができない場合において、弁護人が出頭しないおそれがあるときは、裁判所は、職権で弁護人を付することができる。
Read this with the articles around it
imprisonment
拘禁刑
The punishment of being held in a penal institution (刑事施設), for life or for a fixed term of one month to twenty years (Penal Code, Article 12, paragraphs (1) and (2)); a fixed term can be raised to thirty years where the punishment is aggravated, or cut below one month where it is reduced (Article 14, paragraph (2)). To help the person reform and rehabilitate, they may be made to do work or given guidance (Article 12, paragraph (3)). It ranks below the death penalty and above a fine (罰金) among the principal punishments (Articles 9 and 10, paragraph (1)). It replaced imprisonment with work (懲役) and imprisonment without work (禁錮) when the Act Partially Amending the Penal Code, etc. (Act No. 67 of 2022) came into force (Act No. 67 of 2022, Article 2), and a person sentenced to either is treated, for the rules on a person's qualifications, as sentenced to imprisonment for the same term (Act No. 68 of 2022, Article 443, paragraph (1)).
Written by AI using Penal Code, Arts. 9, 10, 12, 14, Act No. 67 of 2022, Art. 2 and Act No. 68 of 2022, Art. 443 as a reference.