Japan resists calls to abolish death penalty

Saturday 14th June, 07:05 AM JST

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

15 Comments

borscht at 07:34 AM JST - 14th June

Articles translated from Japanese make it sound like the Japanese is always being acted upon and never acts on its own. For example, 'Japan is not in a position...' Why isn't it 'Japan will not...'

Plus, what did Miyagawa say about the racism, xenophobia, migrants, and discrimination against women that the report also mentioned?
rjd_jr at 08:34 AM JST - 14th June

Well this is the first time this 'council' analyzed Japan. It's not like the other countries in the UN council and whatnot aren't guilty of the very same accusations being leveled at japan here.
some14some at 08:44 AM JST - 14th June

Plus, what did Miyagawa say about the racism, xenophobia, migrants, and discrimination against women that the report also mentioned?

Taboo in Japan.
mikihouse at 09:59 AM JST - 14th June

fear of the death sentence is the beginning of all wisdom in human society. Death penalty is a means to atone for the crime committed so that there can be healing and forgiveness.
Patrick Smash at 11:05 AM JST - 14th June

Unfortunately in Japan many people were convicted through forced confessions. I am not entirely against the death sentence in certain cases, but I think innocent people hang here and I find that unacceptable.

Anyone writing in support of the Japanese death sentence is (inadvertently perhaps)supporting the state-sanctioned murder of innocent people, and is even celebrating that in some cases. This sentence should only be applied in cases where there is absolutely no doubt at all, like with Takuma 7 years ago, and Mr. Kato of Akihabara fame. People here are sometimes hanged on very dubious circunstantial evidence. The police in untaped interviews use various forms of torture to extract a connfession over 23 days. That is enough to get someone hanged in reality, if not in statute. Everyone knows this, and I think people should temper their support for the death penalty in all but the most extreme and certain cases.
Statistician at 12:43 PM JST - 14th June

Can't see why anyone would want to argue for the death penalty myself. Apart from the obvious 'miscarriage of justice' argument referred to by Patrick above - you can't dig people up and restore them to life when you realise later that mistakes have been made or evidence 'invented' - there is no evidence it works. There is no correlation between homicide and capital punishment at all. How come the USA, which applies the death penalty, has sky-high homicide rates while Scandinavian countries, who abolished hanging nearly two centuries ago, have so few murders?
borscht at 01:26 PM JST - 14th June

Statistician and Patrick,

Just to support your arguments, in Britain they used to hang pickpockets as an example to other pickpockets. Huge crowds would gather to watch the hanging. And pickpockets would do their business while the guy swung. Direct correlation between hanging and pickpocketing.
Gloobey at 10:37 PM JST - 14th June

"Death penalty is a means to atone for the crime committed so that there can be healing and forgiveness."

No, that's not it at all. It is a revenge killing every bit as savage and uncivilized as the murder it is supposed to 'atone' for. Sadly, this is one of a number of issues that will forever preclude Japan becoming the country it's industrial and financial standing would seem to indicate. Time to join the rest of the civilized world, fellas.
Reicheru at 12:12 AM JST - 15th June

There are seven years of mandatory appeals in California, USA following a conviction in a capital murder case. Does any comparable appeals process exist in Japan following a death sentence? I've also read in a previous Japan Today article that Japan will be implementing a jury system at some point in the foreseeable future. Does this mean that a person is tried, convicted, and sentenced to death without a jury ever entering into the picture? I am a supporter of the death penalty because it offers victims and society a sense of justice and closure. But I do have to question its prevalence in a society where the accused has little to no rights.
Molenir at 02:41 AM JST - 15th June

They don't need to defend themselves for not getting rid of the death penalty. The arguments used for that are idiotic. Better that England and other non death penalty countries should have to defend themselves for not giving justice to the victims of murderers.
YadotNapaj at 03:19 AM JST - 15th June

Human Rights Council should mind its own business.

Japan hangs only the real bad ones.

And does not let pronounce the date of execution out of consideration for the condemned and his/her family.

One morning they walk in and take the guy away to be executed.

A few weeks to a month later they notify the family that the execution took place a few weeks ago.

Pretty good system.
damexicanbuda at 07:40 AM JST - 15th June

In all societies, there are good and there are very, very evil people too. The death penalty is not needed in Scandanavian countries, great! Japan is not Scandanavia! We have too many idiots who do not deserve to be out on the streets! This Kato idiot who killed many people in Akihabara is a good candidate for the death penalty and so are his idiotic parents who raised him in such an evil way!
Notginger at 07:41 AM JST - 15th June

I think Japan is just peed off at being told what to do, same with whale hunting. If there weren't so many busy-bodies from other countries poking their noses in, they would have got rid of the LDP and all that conservative nonsense years ago, but there's nothing like a bit of foreign interference to get the heckles of ignorance rising.
nisegaijin at 12:30 PM JST - 15th June

I think there is a problem with death penalty: it's not used enough.
Patrick Smash at 09:51 PM JST - 15th June

Molenir

Strange that you say that, and yet the hanging of innocent people doesn't bother you. Just read up on the system, and you'll understand that innocent people are killed. If that's okay with you, then you have a problem. If you have blind faith that only the guilty are on death row here, then I can't reason with that level of stupidity.