No, the GOP is an exercise in authoritarianism rather than a bamboozle.

Rank-and-file Republicans know that, in exchange for being tread upon by the owner class etc., they will be receiving underclasses that they're allowed to tread on with impunity. They consider this not only fair but the rightful way of the universe.

> With all the bad press recently, I can't imagine why a parent would choose this path. And why they are allowed to exist.

Authoritarian parents need a more comprehensive institution of authoritarianism to fall back on when their methods inevitably fail. And there are enough adults out there with an authoritarian mindset that their votes result in the protection and advancement of stuff like this.

The same is true of most countries.

(The US is distinctive in its enormous reliance on plea bargaining, however.)

This has more to do with prosecutors declining to take cases they aren't certain of convicting than it does with anything else.

EDIT: You can downvote all you like, it doesn't change the fact that prosecutors' offices in Japan are widely understaffed, and that prosecutors drop most cases instead of even trying to indict. I'm sure you've heard all sorts of dumb stories by disgruntled expats, but the statistics show the truth.

This formula is complicated by the fact that the owner class uses racism as a marketing campaign to sell corporate exploitation.