Death penalty has public support: Fukuda

Wednesday 18th June, 07:23 AM JST

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Spidey at 09:39 AM JST - 18th June

Until there is an "absolute" 100% infallible justice system, then and only then should there be an "absolute" punishment.
Too many innocent people are dying at the hands of corrupt and imperfect justice systems.

S
saintseiya at 09:45 AM JST - 18th June

The Akiba stabber Kato is guilty, he got caught on tape, picture, tons of eye witnesses ex . . . so no worry they will hang him being innocent, thought he is just a poor bastard and as there are many other like him, waiting to explode, the penalty will only emplify their sympathy with Kato . . . . what I worry is that in japan there is no after math investigation that will check fact and evidences on certain cases in future, so that in case some peeps had been hanged as innocent, theses cases would come to light and the autorities of that time would have to take responsibility on the aftermath . . .this would accelerate a purge inside the jap. juristic society and maybe end with the death penalty being abolished . . . .
Sarge at 09:47 AM JST - 18th June

I bet taxpayers will be paying for Kato's imprisonment for at least 10 years.
Zen_Builder at 09:50 AM JST - 18th June

I feel that Kato could be reformed and could rejoin society.

But that is not the the view here, everybody here seems to want him to do the hemp fandango. Feels like a lynch society here at times.
Patrick Smash at 09:53 AM JST - 18th June

Doesn't Mr. Fukuda himself have the support of some 22% of the population? Surely that makes his rule minority opinion, and his LDP should immediately be abolished as it clearly does not have the support of the Japanese public.

It's not so much the penalty, it's the way so many were convicted on forced confessions that worries me. Since the Death Penalty is not a deterrent, the execution of one single innocent person makes it the wrong sentence. Of course Japanese politicians cannot doubt the wonderful 99.97% conviction rate (as it was until recently) or accept that the system has put plenty of innocent people on Death Row.
chardk1 at 10:13 AM JST - 18th June

I feel that Kato could be reformed and could rejoin society.

I dunno, I think that is a lot easier to say when the guy didn't run you over with a car and stab you.
Zen_Builder at 10:22 AM JST - 18th June

I don't know most people of crimes I know harbour little resentment to the criminal once they got the full story and background. Not talking guys like miyazaki here.

Kato flipped out due to his surroundings(yes, he killed a few), said that I had a friend that when drunk hit another guy in abrawl who fell and died from hitting his head on the curb. He still spend 10yrs in jail and is now friends with the deceased family.

Neither is right, IMO, but at times things do happen. But I think with the right care Kato can be re-integrated. Kato was mentally disturbed but that don't mean he can't recover fell remorse with the right guidance. But, yeah, it is easy to hang him and feel superior.

Just tired of the knee-jerk reactions like the Guy did bad and thus deserves to die, etc. Not everything is black and white.

Just happy that the majority of posters here don't get to make death/life decisions.
Statistician at 10:59 AM JST - 18th June

If Fukuda has started paying attention to opinion polls and acting on the result I look forward to his news of his resignation and the early general election. Thanks for paying attention to what people are saying Fukuda-san, it is a rare quality amongst politicians.
rbnjm at 12:35 PM JST - 18th June

Fukuda-san is the last person who should cite public opinion for what he does. Here is a guy who totally ignored the Japanese publics wishes to end the gasoline tax as well as the concerns of the elderly regarding their health care insurance. He and LDP are completely out of touch with what the Japanese people really need or want.
mikihouse at 01:33 PM JST - 18th June

there are two things a man can't escape in Japan...death penalty and taxes, either way you die
Piglet at 01:49 PM JST - 18th June

It's a moral issue: the government should have NO power to take any life away, might it be the life of a serial killer. Justice is not revenge, because we live in a modern democratic society. The main objective of the Judiciary system is to protect the society from dangerous individuals by locking them up for a specified amount of time (up to life-time jail). I don't give my government the right to decide about who should live and die. I only give my government the right to protect me by locking dangerous people in jail.
livi4 at 01:55 PM JST - 18th June

...all of you scribblers here I suppose are typical pseudo-humanistic hypocritical Americans - when was a referendum last time in US about death penalty ? - and it still ongoing in many states. And so it should. It is shortsighted to say that 'it's not a deterrent'- be it so, there is also an element of vindication involved, yes, don't start moralizing, a vindication is a normal human and society response, too.
Everton2 at 02:50 PM JST - 18th June

The death penalty as a means of social justice is totally inappropriate for Japanese society. A society that for a long period of its history and to a certain extent today regarded suicide as an honorable way to die.
chardk1 at 04:42 PM JST - 18th June

Just happy that the majority of posters here don't get to make death/life decisions.

Yes, we would be better off if we rehabilitated Kato and had him make them for us. No doubt he would be wiser than the rest of us bloodthirsty idiots.

I am not a fan of the death penalty, and I think there are many valid reasons to abolish it (e.g., as a matter of principle not to take human life, because of the number of false convictions, etc.). But because I am sanguine that the mentally deranged can be rehabilitated into happy and useful members of society isn't high on my list of reasons.
thundercat at 04:50 PM JST - 18th June

livi4

I assume by vidication you mean 'revenge'? I wouldn't classify that as a 'normal human or society response'.

I just finished reading findings from a report which stated that more than 80% of those who responded supported the death penalty (the figures are from 2005). Unfortunately, there is no indication at all how these findings were reached or whether or not this was even a scientific survey. In light of the fact that it's not stated I'm still a little curious about how Fukuda reached his conclusions.