1.
principal (offender); person who commits the crime directly
A legal term for the person who personally carries out the criminal act, as opposed to an accomplice or accessory. Under Japanese criminal law, the principal is distinguished from those who merely aid, abet, or instigate the crime, and is generally subject to the full penalty.
彼が正犯だ。
He is the principal offender.
正犯と共犯は区別される。
A distinction is made between principal offenders and accomplices.
警察はその男を事件の正犯と断定した。
The police concluded that the man was the principal offender in the case.
裁判では被告が正犯か従犯かをめぐって激しい議論が交わされた。
At the trial, heated arguments were exchanged over whether the defendant was the principal or an accessory.
Composed of 正 (main; direct) and 犯 (perpetrator; crime). The 正 prefix marks the direct, main actor — contrasted with 共 (joint) in 共犯 or 従 (secondary) in 従犯.
USAGE:
A technical criminal-law term used in the Penal Code, court judgments, and crime reporting. In everyday speech, people say 犯人 instead. Japanese law recognizes several categories of 正犯: 単独正犯 (sole principal), 共同正犯 (co-principals who act together), and 間接正犯 (indirect principal — one who uses another as a tool).
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 共同正犯: co-principal (jointly acting perpetrators)
- 間接正犯: indirect principal
- 正犯として起訴する: to indict as a principal offender
- 正犯と共犯: principal and accomplice
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 共犯: accomplice; co-offender — general term for anyone involved besides the sole principal
- 従犯: accessory — one who helps the principal but does not directly carry out the crime
- 主犯: ringleader; chief perpetrator — a media/everyday word emphasizing the leader of a group, not a strict legal category
- 犯人: offender; culprit — the general, non-technical word for whoever did it