After showing reluctance to sign execution warrants last month when he first took office, it is deeply alarming that Minister Hideo Hiraoka now seems to be under pressure to approve executions despite his own calls for caution.
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Catherine Baber, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Asia and the Pacific, following Justice Minister Hideo Hiraoka’s announcement that he does not intend to end capital punishment, despite saying last month that he would not approve executions. (Amnesty International)
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tkoind2
There is a very Japanese message here. He will not officially ban executions, but will not sign off on them, making this essentially a ban.
This is very Japanese and for the time being working in our favor to put an end to capital punishment for the time being.
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zichi
I have always opposed the death penalty and even coming from a country, Britain, which abolished it decades ago. Justice Minister Hideo Hiraoka can refuse to sign execution orders but does not have the authority to ban them.
That would require a change of law and since the majority of Japanese and politicians support the death penalty, so no change in law is likely. But the administration of Death Row should come under the control of the prison system and be governed by the same laws as prisons.
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electric2004
Eventually it took him so long to properly read the manual to fill out the forms.
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theeastisred
Many US states have the death penalty on their books but never or almost never use it. Same for certain countries including, I believe, India and South Korea. So while I don't approve of the death penalty and I hope Japan bans it one day, this is not a bad interim compromise. Unfortunately Japan has never seriously discussed the issue and so it goes down as one of those things that are done a certain way because they have always been done that way. If Japan looked around at its fellows in the death penalty camp, it might feel less comfortable - apart from the US, the main players being the likes of China, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran and other paragons of democracy and rule of law.
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