All about Japan

60 element(s) found

31st-session-commission-on-crime-prevention-side-event

Article(s)

L’opinion publique en soutien à l’abolition

By Sarah Saint-Sorny, on 10 June 2022

La 31ème Session de la Commission sur la Prévention du Crime et la Justice Criminelle de l’ONUDC s’est tenue à Vienne du 16 au 20 mai 2022. A cette occasion, la Japan Federation of Bar Associations a organisé un évènement parallèle : « Abolir la peine de mort : opinion publique et chemin vers l’abolition », qui s’est tenu […]

2022

France

Japan

Public Opinion 

United States

31st-session-commission-on-crime-prevention-side-event

Article(s)

Public opinion supportive of the abolition

By Sarah Saint-Sorny, on 10 June 2022

The 31st Session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice of the ODC took place in Vienna from the 16th to the 20th of May 2022. At this occasion, the Japan Federation of Bar Associations organized a side-event: “Abolishing the Death Penalty: Public Opinion and the Road to Abolition”, which was held online […]

France

Japan

Public Opinion 

United States

Document(s)

The Clemency Process in East and Southeast Asia

on 22 March 2022


2022

NGO report

China

Clemency

Indonesia

Japan

Malaysia

Singapore

Taiwan

Thailand

Viet Nam


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In this report, we summarise the current international position on clemency and the death penalty and compare it to snapshots of the clemency processes in the following Southeast and East Asian countries: Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan, and China. All references to clemency in this paper are in the context of reprieve from the death penalty.

  • Document type NGO report
  • Countries list China / Indonesia / Japan / Malaysia / Singapore / Taiwan / Thailand / Viet Nam
  • Themes list Clemency
Japan's flag

Article(s)

Protest Against Executions Ordered by Minister of Justice Yoshihisa Furukawa

By Center for Prisoner Rights and Japan Innocence and Death Penalty Information Center, on 23 December 2021

On 21 December 2021, Japan’s new governement executed three men after two years with no execution during which Japan hosted the Olympics and the United Nations Congress on Criminal Justice.

2021

Japan

Legal Representation

Moratorium

Document(s)

Japanese : The Chaplain

By Japan Society Film, on 8 September 2020


2020

Multimedia content

Japan


More details See the document

The late, great Ren Osugi (Hana-bi) stars as a prison chaplain working on death row in this thought-provoking chamber drama—his final film as an actor and first as a producer. Visiting with a regular roster of inmates who await their final sentence—including a converted ex-yakuza and a philosophy-spouting mass murderer—the newly appointed clergyman gradually learns of their circumstances and is forced to confront his own understanding of life, death and salvation. Featuring unforgettable characters and a restrained visual style, Dai Sako’s searching film takes on the rarely-addressed topic of Japan’s death penalty in order to question the state of the country’s soul.

  • Document type Multimedia content
  • Countries list Japan
  • Themes list Retribution, Death Penalty, Country/Regional profiles,

Document(s)

Viêt Namese : Liệu Hình phạt Tử hình Có Tác dụng Ngăn chặn Tội phạm Giết người ở Nhật Bản?

By David T. Johnson / Asian Law Centre, on 8 September 2020


Multimedia content

Japan


More details See the document

Không giống như ở Mỹ, nơi tràn ngập các nghiên cứu về tử hình và tác dụng răn đe của hình phạt này, có rất ít nghiên cứu về hình phạt tử hình và tác dụng răn đe của nó ở Nhật Bản. Mặc dù vậy, người dân và các quan chức nước này vẫn đưa ra những nhậnđịnh đầy tự tin đối với chủ đề này. Trên thực tế, tác dụng răn đe được xem là “điểm tranh cãi chủ chốt giữa các lập luận ủng hộ và phản đối” hình phạt tử hình ở Nhật Bản. Khó khăn trong việc thu thập các số liệu chuẩn mực về tội phạm từ Chính phủ Nhật Bản đã khiến cho việc tiến hành một nghiên cứu nghiêm túc về đề tài này gần như là bất khả thi. Bài viết này sử dụng các số liệu thống kê hàng tháng về tội phạm giết người và tộiphạm giết người cướp mà trước không thể tiếp cận được để xem xét liệu việc tuyên và thực thi án tử hình ở Nhật Bản có tác dụng ngăn chặn những tội phạm kể trên trong giai đoạn từ năm 1990 đến 2010 hay không. Và phát hiện chính của nghiên cứu này là hình phạt tử hình không có tác dụng răn đe tội phạm giết người và tội phạm cướp của giết người trong giai đoạn nói trên. Cần phải có thêm nghiên cứu về đề tài này, tuy nhiên, tại thời điểm hiện tại Chính phủ Nhật Bản không có bất cứ căn cứ chắc chắn nào để tiếp tục khẳng định nước này cần duy trì hình phạt tử hình vì hình phạt này giúp ngăn chặn tội phạm có tính đặc biệt nghiêm trọng.

  • Document type Multimedia content
  • Countries list Japan

Document(s)

The Death Penalty in Japan: A report on Japan’s legal obligations under the International Convenant on Civil and Political Rights and an assessment of public attitudes to capital punishment

By Saul Lehrfreund / Death Penalty Project, on 8 September 2020


NGO report

Japan


More details See the document

This report was commissioned by the Death Penalty Project in order to assess Japan’s legal obligations on the use of the death penalty under the ICCPR, and to examine the related subject of public attitudes toward capital punishment in Japan.

  • Document type NGO report
  • Countries list Japan
  • Themes list International law, Public opinion,

Document(s)

MVFHR Asia Speech Tour in Korea & Japan

By Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty / Murder Victims' Families for Human Rights / YouTube, on 8 September 2020


Academic report

Japan

en
More details See the document

MVFHR is an organization formed by a group of victim’s family members. They have traveled across the ocean all the way down to Korea, Japan, and Taiwan to share their stories and views on the death penalty with the local victim’s family members, attorneys, and human rights organizations.

Document(s)

Note verbale dated 10 February 2009 from the Permanent Missions to the United Nations of Afghanistan, the Bahamas, […] and Zimbabwe addressed to the Secretary-General

By United Nations, on 8 September 2020


United Nations report

Afghanistan

Bahamas

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Barbados

Botswana

Brunei Darussalam

Central African Republic

Chad

China

Comoros

Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Dominica

Egypt

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Eswatini

Ethiopia

Fiji

Gambia

Grenada

Guinea

Guyana

Indonesia

Iran (Islamic Republic of)

Iraq

Jamaica

Japan

Jordan

Kuwait

Lao People's Democratic Republic

Libya

Malaysia

Maldives

Mauritania

Mongolia

Moratorium

Myanmar

Niger

Nigeria

Papua New Guinea

Qatar

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Lucia

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Saudi Arabia

Singapore

Solomon Islands

Somalia

Sudan

Suriname

Syrian Arab Republic

Thailand

Tonga

Trinidad and Tobago

Uganda

United Arab Emirates

Yemen

Zimbabwe

aresfrruzh-hant
More details See the document

The Permanent Missions to the United Nations in New York listed below present their compliments to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and have the honour to refer to resolution 62/149, entitled “Moratorium on the use of the death penalty”, which was adopted by the Third Committee on 15 November 2007, and subsequently by the General Assembly on 18 December 2007 by a recorded vote. The Permanent Missions wish to place on record that they are in persistent objection to any attempt to impose a moratorium on the use of the death penalty or its abolition in contravention to existing stipulations under international law, for the following reasons:

Document(s)

The Death Penalty in Japan: The Law of Silence – Going Against the International Trend

By Florence Bellivier / International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) / Dan Van Raemdonck / Jiazhen Wu, on 8 September 2020


NGO report

Japan

fr
More details See the document

This report is the outcome of a fact-finding mission conducted by FIDH in July 2008, in order to assess the measures taken by the Japanese government to implement the recommendations made by a previous investigation, conducted in 2003.The conclusions of the report are appalling. According to Florence Bellivier, General Secretary of FIDH “Japan continues to condemn criminals to death, and incarcerate them up for decades, in prisons where secrecy and isolation are commonplace, in total disregard of the world opinion”. In addition, the rhythm of the executions has accelerated over the recent years. “2008 has been a record year, with more executions this year than in any other of the last fifteen years. We are witnessing a real step backwards” added Dan Van Raemdonck, Vice-President of FIDH. Thirteen persons have been executed since the beginning of the year, and 102 are currently on death row. There has not been a single retrial of a death penalty case since 1986, and no convicted prisoner has been pardoned since 1975.

Document(s)

Note verbale dated 11 January 2008 from the Permanent Missions to the United Nations of Afghanistan, Antigua and Barbuda, […] and Zimbabwe addressed to the Secretary-General

By United Nations, on 8 September 2020


United Nations report

Afghanistan

Antigua and Barbuda

Bahamas

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Barbados

Botswana

Brunei Darussalam

Central African Republic

China

Comoros

Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Dominica

Egypt

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Eswatini

Ethiopia

Fiji

Grenada

Guinea

Guyana

Indonesia

Iran (Islamic Republic of)

Iraq

Jamaica

Japan

Jordan

Kuwait

Lao People's Democratic Republic

Libya

Malaysia

Maldives

Mauritania

Mongolia

Moratorium

Myanmar

Nigeria

Oman

Pakistan

Papua New Guinea

Qatar

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Lucia

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Saudi Arabia

Singapore

Solomon Islands

Somalia

Sudan

Suriname

Syrian Arab Republic

Thailand

Tonga

Trinidad and Tobago

Uganda

United Arab Emirates

Yemen

Zimbabwe

aresfrruzh-hant
More details See the document

The Permanent Missions to the United Nations in New York listed below present their compliments to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and have the honour to refer to resolution 62/149, entitled “Moratorium on the use of the death penalty”, which was adopted by the Third Committee on 15 November 2007, and subsequently by the General Assembly on 18 December 2007 by a recorded vote. The Permanent Missions wish to place on record that they are in persistent objection to any attempt to impose a moratorium on the use of the death penalty or its abolition in contravention to existing stipulations under international law, for the following reasons:

Document(s)

Japanese : 「人権と死刑を考える国際リーダーシップ会議」

By Japan Federation of Bar Associations, on 8 September 2020


NGO report

Japan


More details See the document

欧州連合(EU)の行政機関として、死刑廃止政策を積極的に推進するECからは、駐日EC代表部のライテラー公使が、裁判員制度を目前に控えるなか、死刑の存廃・目的・機能、適用方法、犯罪被害者遺族のみならず被執行者遺族の問題を議論することが必要と指摘し、「世論調査による80%の死刑支持率は、死刑継続の正当化ではなく、さらなる議論を要することを示すもの」と語った。またABAからは、多忙なスケジュールの合間をぬって来日したマイケル・グレコ会長が発言した。ABAは、死刑存廃に関する態度は留保したまま、死刑制度に関するさまざまな問題点を指摘し、97年2月に死刑執行停止を求める決議を採択し、死刑制度の運用や死刑事件弁護等に関するガイドラインを制定するほか、さまざまなプログラムを全米さらには海外で展開している。グレコ会長は、「命が奪われる前には、公正な裁判が行われなければならない」として、法律家の責任を強く訴えた

  • Document type NGO report
  • Countries list Japan
  • Themes list Networks,

Document(s)

Japanese : 21世紀 日本に死刑は必要か?死刑執行停止法の制定を求めて

By Japan Federation of Bar Associations, on 8 September 2020


NGO report

Japan


More details See the document

賛否が分かれる死刑制度2006年9月現在、死刑制度を維持している国は、世界で68か国です。死刑制度に賛成の立場からは、人の生命を奪った者が自らの生命を奪われるのは当然である、という応報的な考え方や、愛する者を奪われた被害者遺族の感情を考えれば死刑は必要である、死刑の威嚇によって犯罪を抑止することができる、などが死刑制度を維持すべき理由として挙げられています。一方、死刑を廃止している国は129か国。死刑制度に反対の立場からは、人権保障の観点から、たとえ国家であっても生命という究極の価値を奪うことは許されない、死刑は残虐で非人道的な刑罰である、とする考えや、誤判による死刑のおそれがあること、死刑に犯罪抑止の効果は実証されていないこと、などが挙げられています。

  • Document type NGO report
  • Countries list Japan
  • Themes list Networks,

Document(s)

Japanese : 今日が最期の日?

By Amnesty International, on 8 September 2020


NGO report

Japan

enes
More details See the document

日本では、死刑執行の予定日に刑務所の外で監視行動などがおこなわれることはない。処刑がおこなわれるかどうかは当局だけが知るところだからである。また処刑は通常、国会が閉会中で処刑の問題を国会で協議することができないような時期におこなわれる。臼井日出男元法相によれば、「死刑についての論議を大々的にする」機会を野党議員に与えないために、このような方針がとられているということである。死刑の執行に関して唯一明らかにされているのは、定期的に法務省が出す統計情報である。執行された人の名前は明らかにはされず、家族が公開しないかぎり知ることはできない。法務省はこうした秘密主義は, 死刑囚の家族を、身内が処刑されたと知られないよう、保護するためだとしている。

Document(s)

Japan: “Will this day be my last?” The death penalty in Japan

By Amnesty International, on 8 September 2020


NGO report

Japan

enes
More details See the document

This report examines a number of concerns related to the application of the death penalty in Japan, where approximately 87 prisoners currently remain on death row. These concerns include the fact that a prisoner is notified of the execution on the morning of the day it is to be carried out. In some cases the prisoner is not notified at all. This means that prisoners live with the constant fear of execution, not knowing whether they will be alive the next day. Amnesty International calls on the Japanese government to abolish the death penalty as a matter of urgency.

Document(s)

Japanese : 特集/死刑を考える

By 現代人文社編集部・編 / 季刊刑事弁護, on 8 September 2020


Article

Japan


More details See the document

【特集】死刑を考える・死刑代替刑としての終身刑・死刑廃止議員連盟の法案作成課程を振り返る・死刑廃止をめぐる最近の国際的動向・死刑求刑検察官上告5事件以降の死刑判決の分析・共犯事件の死刑適用基準・死刑判決に対する被告人による上訴取下げの問題点

  • Document type Article
  • Countries list Japan

Document(s)

Japanese : 死刑民主主義国家にあるまじき行為

By International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) / Sharon Hom / Etienne Jaudel / Richard Wild, on 8 September 2020


NGO report

Japan

enfr
More details See the document

廃止推進団体の努力にもかかわらず、世論には、死刑制度の継続を支持する強い傾向があることは確かです。死刑適用の実状を政府が隠し、これまでよかったといわれた治安が徐々に悪化していることもあり、この時機に政府が、国民に不人気な決断をすることはないでしょう。欧州評議会をはじめとする、国際組織からの圧力に対して、政府は「内政に対する許しがたい干渉」ときめつけています。保守派が与党の政府において、廃止に向けての議論が政治決定となる気配はありません。 日本のすべての弁護士が加盟する日弁連は、廃止法案提案でコンセンサスに至らなかったという事実が、現時点で死刑がなくなる可能性が少ないことを雄弁に物語っています。

Document(s)

Japanese : 死刑制度問題に関する提言

By Japan Federation of Bar Associations, on 8 September 2020


NGO report

Japan

en
More details See the document

国連の国際人権(自由権)規約は、第6 条6 項において、「この条のいかなる規定も、この規約の締約国により死刑の廃止を遅らせ又は妨げるために援用されてはならない」として、死刑廃止の方向性を確認していたが、1989 年、国連総会において国際人権(自由権)規約第二選択議定書、いわゆる「死刑廃止条約」(以下、「死刑廃止条約」という。)が採択され(1991 年発効)、死刑の廃止が明確化された。日本は米国・中国などと共に同条約に反対し、今日に至るまで批准していない(注1)。また、国際人権(自由権)規約人権委員会は、1993 年11 月4 日、第3 回の日本政府報告書の審査にあたり、日本政府に対し、死刑廃止に向けた措置をとること、および死刑確定者のおかれた拘禁状態が規約に違反するとして、これを改善することを勧告している。しかし、その後も日本において前記勧告を受けての改善は一切なされず、同委員会は1998 年11 月6 日に再度、日本政府に対し、死刑の廃止および死刑確定者処遇の改善を勧告した。

Document(s)

The Death Penalty in Japan: An “Absurd” Punishment

By Joachim Herrmann / Brooklyn Law Review, on 8 September 2020


Article

Japan


More details See the document

This article outlines some of the main arguments against the death penalty in Japan.

  • Document type Article
  • Countries list Japan

Document(s)

The Culture of Capital Punishment in Japan

By David T. Johnson, on 4 July 2020


2020

Academic report

Japan


More details See the document

Japan retains the death penalty for three main reasons: because it missed a major opportunity for abolition in the postwar Occupation, because of the long hegemony of the (conservative) Liberal Democratic Party, and because (like the United States and China) it has sufficient size, economic influence, and political clout to enable it to defy human rights norms. Capital punishment also persists in Japan because it performs welcome functions for politicians, prosecutors, media, and the public.
Despite widespread belief to the contrary, capital punishment in Japan does not deter homicide better than long terms of imprisonment do.

  • Document type Academic report
  • Countries list Japan

Article(s)

Regarding the execution in Japan of seven people

By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 10 July 2018

STATEMENT – WORLD COALITION AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty would like to express its sympathy and support to all courageous anti-death penalty activists who have fought bravely to try to prevent the executions of seven people in Japan on the same day, on 6 July. The World Coalition calls […]

2018

Japan

Article(s)

Joint statement of the death penalty in Japan

By Center for Prisoners' Rights and Japan Innocence & Death Penalty Information Center, on 30 March 2018

Joint Statement signed by Center for Prisoners’ Rights and Japan Innocence & Death Penalty Information Center to to call Japanese government for a sincere dialogue while condemning the government for refusing a dialogue with international communityand not accepting capital punishment as a human rights issue.

2018

Japan

Document(s)

Does the Death Penalty Deter Homicide in Japan?

By David T. Johnson / Asian Law Centre, on 1 January 2017


2017

Multimedia content

Japan


More details See the document

Unlike the United States, where death penalty and deterrence studies are legion, there has been little research about the death penalty and deterrence in Japan, though the paucity of studies has not discouraged citizens and officials from making confident claims about this issue. Indeed, deterrence has been called “the core of argumentation for and against” the death penalty in Japan. Serious research on this subject has beenall but impossible because of difficulties obtaining decent crime data from the Japanese government. This paper uses monthly homicide and robbery-homicide statistics thatwere previously unavailable to examine whether death sentences and executions in Japan deterred these crimes from 1990 to 2010. The main finding is that the death penalty did not deter homicide or robbery-homicide during this period. More research is needed on this subject, but at present the Japanese government has no sound basis for continuing to claim that the country needs to retain the death penalty because it detersheinous crime.

  • Document type Multimedia content
  • Countries list Japan
  • Themes list Deterrence , Death Penalty,

Document(s)

Japanese Moratorium on the Death Penalty

By Mika Obara-Minnitt, on 1 January 2016


2016

Book

Japan


More details See the document

While the number of states that retain capital punishment is declining, Japan has maintained the death penalty in its legislation. In the case of Japan, the government has consistently justified the retention and use of the death penalty on the basis of national law. However, the country as recently experienced a number of de facto moratorium periods on executions. This book addresses how the Ministry of Justice in Japan has justified capital punishment policy during these de facto moratorium periods. The primary goal of this volume is to provide a better understanding of the elite-driven nature of the capital punishment system in Japan. It also addresses the domestic and cultural factors of the capital punishment policy and the rhetoric of the Ministry of Justice in its justification of capital punishment policy.

  • Document type Book
  • Countries list Japan
  • Themes list Moratorium , Death Penalty, Country/Regional profiles,

Article(s)

Imposing the death penalty has not reduced drug crimes in Asia -New Report

By FIDH & World Coalition, on 10 October 2015

Death penalty for drug crimes in Asia: an illegal practice reveals report published on World Day by FIDH and the World Coalition

2015

Afghanistan

Bangladesh

China

Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Drug Offenses

India

Indonesia

Iran (Islamic Republic of)

Japan

Lao People's Democratic Republic

Malaysia

Maldives

Myanmar

Pakistan

Republic of Korea

Singapore

Sri Lanka

Taiwan

Thailand

Viet Nam

Document(s)

Will Wrongful Convictions Be a Catalyst for Change in Japanese Criminal Justice?

By Australian Broadcasting Company, on 1 January 2015


2015

Multimedia content

Japan


More details See the document

Televised report on the flawed Japanese Justice System in an analysis of 2 exonorated prisoners from death row.

  • Document type Multimedia content
  • Countries list Japan
  • Themes list Fair Trial, Innocence,

Document(s)

Will Wrongful Convictions Be a Catalyst for Change in Japanese Criminal Justice?

By David T. Johnson / The Asia-Pacific Journal / Matthew Carney, on 1 January 2015


Article

Japan


More details See the document

This article is a written explanation of the 12-minute Australian Broadcasting Corporation video of the same name.

  • Document type Article
  • Countries list Japan
  • Themes list Fair Trial, Trend Towards Abolition, Innocence,

Document(s)

An Innocent Man: Hakamada Iwao and the Problem of Wrongful Convictions in Japan

By David T. Johnson / The Asia-Pacific Journal, on 1 January 2015


Article

Japan


More details See the document

The main aim of this article is to explore the problem of wrongful convictions in Japanese criminal justice by focusing on the case of Hakamada Iwao, who was sentenced to death in 1968 and released in 2014 because of evidence of his innocence.

  • Document type Article
  • Countries list Japan
  • Themes list Fair Trial, Innocence,

Document(s)

Wrongful Convictions and the Culture of Denial in Japanese Criminal Justice

By David T. Johnson / The Asia-Pacific Journal, on 1 January 2015


Article

Japan


More details See the document

The release of Hakamada Iwao from death row in March 2014 after 48 years of incarceration provides an opportunity to reflect on wrongful convictions in Japanese criminal justice. My approach is comparative because this problem cannot be understood without asking how Japan compares with other countries: to know only one country is to know no country well. Comparison with the United States is especially instructive because there have been many studies of wrongful conviction there and because the U.S. and Japan are the only two developed democracies that retain capital punishment and continue to carry out executions on a regular basis. On the surface, the United States seems to have a more serious problem with wrongful convictions than Japan, but this gap is more apparent than real. To reduce the problem of wrongful convictions in Japanese criminal justice, reformers must confront a culture of denial that makes it difficult for police, prosecutors, and judges to acknowledge their own mistakes.

  • Document type Article
  • Countries list Japan
  • Themes list Fair Trial, Innocence,

Article(s)

ADPAN network strengthens abolitionists across Asia

By Aurélie Plaçais (in Taipei, Taiwan), on 9 December 2014

The Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network, a coalition hosted by Amnesty International in London since 2006, has become an independent organisation registered in Malaysia and held its first AGM in Taipei, Taiwan on 4-5 December.

2014

China

Japan

Malaysia

Mongolia

Public Opinion 

Republic of Korea

Taiwan

Taiwan

Article(s)

Asia develops into hub of abolitionist dialogue

By Emile Carreau, on 6 November 2014

World Coalition member, Community of Sant’Egidio, has organised anti-death penalty conferences in Japan and the Philippines, both of which were overwhelmingly attended. Further conferences in the region are set to continue.

2014

Cambodia

India

Indonesia

Japan

Lao People's Democratic Republic

Philippines

Sri Lanka

Viet Nam

Article(s)

Links between death penalty and mental health exposed from Japan to Nigeria

By Thomas Hubert, on 15 October 2014

The 12th World Day Against the Death Penalty was marked by hundreds of actions on all continents, in the media and online.

2014

Japan

Mental Illness

Document(s)

Japan : 111 th Session of the Human Rights Committee

By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty / The Advocates for Human Rights / Center for Prisoners' Rights / Fédération Internationale des Ligues des Droits de l'Homme (FIDH), on 1 January 2014


2014

Multimedia content

Japan


More details See the document

This report examinesprison conditionsandthe imposition of the death penalty in Japan in light of international human rights standards.

  • Document type Multimedia content
  • Countries list Japan
  • Themes list Due Process , International law, Death Row Conditions,

Article(s)

Moving away from the death penalty in Asia

By Sandra Babcock (DeathPenaltyWorldwide.org) in Bangkok, on 25 October 2013

Following up on the World Day Against the Death Penalty, successive meetings in Thailand and in China highlight decreasing support for capital punishment among Asian governments and public opinion.

2013

Brunei Darussalam

China

Japan

Lao People's Democratic Republic

Moratorium

Myanmar

Public Opinion 

Thailand

Article(s)

Latest Japan execution violates UN guidelines

on 16 September 2013

World Coalition member organisation Center for Prisoners’ Rights condemns the execution of an elderly prisoner in Tokyo on 12 September.

2013

Japan

Article(s)

Asian progress paves the way for new strategies

By Thomas Hubert, on 20 June 2013

Although most executions continue to take place in Asia, their number is going down – and abolitionists are coming up with new ideas to bring about abolition.

2013

India

Japan

Malaysia

Mongolia

Moratorium

Singapore

Article(s)

Japan in breach of international standards, opinion wavering – study

By Thomas Hubert, on 14 March 2013

A report published by the Death Penalty Project and the Center for Prisoners’ Rights shows that Japanese law and practice on capital punishment violate international treaties, and questions the high level of public support for the death penalty reported by the authorities.

2013

Japan

Public Opinion 

Article(s)

First executions under Abe government raise fears of more

By Thomas Hubert, on 21 February 2013

Abolitionists worldwide protest the execution of three prisoners in Japan on 21st February and call on the new justice minister to heed international calls for restraint.

2013

Japan

Moratorium

Article(s)

Building a death penalty-free future in Asia

By Aurélie Plaçais, on 6 December 2012

Ways to strengthen transregional action led by Asian activists and ideas to combat obstruction from national authorities were among the issues discussed at the third ADPAN consultative meeting.

2012

Australia

Bangladesh

China

India

Indonesia

Japan

Malaysia

Mongolia

Moratorium

Pakistan

Philippines

Republic of Korea

Singapore

Taiwan

Thailand

Article(s)

UN General Assembly Committee adopts draft moratorium resolution

By Maria Donatelli, on 20 November 2012

A majority of the world’s nations have approved a text calling for a global moratorium on executions, with stronger support than in a previous vote two years ago.

2012

Afghanistan

Bangladesh

Botswana

Central African Republic

Croatia

Cuba

Egypt

India

Indonesia

Japan

Malaysia

Maldives

Mauritania

Moratorium

Morocco

Niger

Oman

Singapore

South Sudan

Sri Lanka

Sudan

Suriname

Tunisia

Viet Nam

Article(s)

Japan’s death penalty under scrutiny

By The Advocates for Human Rights, on 5 November 2012

2012

Clemency

Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment

Death Row Conditions 

Fair Trial

Intellectual Disability

Japan

Legal Representation

Mental Illness

Article(s)

Japan death penalty at turning point

on 9 February 2012

After one year without executions, the Japanese government looks set to resume state killings. The Center for Prisoners’ Rights, a World Coalition member organisation, has launched an urgent petition to reverse the trend.

2012

Clemency

Japan

Article(s)

10.10.10 Looking back on the World Day in Asia

on 3 December 2010

The Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network rounds up reports from the main events organised across the Asia-Pacific region for World Day Against the Death Penalty on October 10.

2010

Australia

Bangladesh

India

Indonesia

Iran (Islamic Republic of)

Italy

Japan

Pakistan

Singapore

Terrorism

United States

Article(s)

EU-NGO forum: death penalty is a priority

on 6 August 2010

At a meeting in Brussels in July, European institutions and NGOs restated their commitment to a long-term partnership to oppose the death penalty worldwide.

2010

Innocence

Japan

Murder Victims' Families

Article(s)

Japan executions “a step backward for Asia”

on 30 July 2010

Activists in Japan and elsewhere have criticised Justice Minister Keiko Chiba for ordering two men to be hanged in Tokyo on July 28 despite her earlier abolitionist statements.

2010

Japan

Moratorium

Public Opinion 

Taiwan

Article(s)

Universal abolition will happen when four key countries change sides

on 28 February 2010

The US, Iran, China and Japan hold a strategic cultural or geographic position, but the road to abolition remains blocked in those countries.

2010

China

Death Row Conditions 

Iran (Islamic Republic of)

Japan

Juveniles

Switzerland

United States

Article(s)

Europe and Japan share “Reflections on life”

on 8 December 2009

Speaking at a symposium on the death penalty organised in Tokyo by the Swedish presidency of the European Union, a Japanese minister expressed his commitment for abolition.

2009

Innocence

Japan

Moratorium

Public Opinion 

Article(s)

Japan executes mentally ill people and pushes prisoners over the edge

on 11 September 2009

The Japanese government continues to execute prisoners with psychiatric illnesses and the conditions on death row provoke mental disorders among inmates, according to a new Amnesty International report.

2009

Death Row Conditions 

Japan

Mental Illness

Article(s)

Japan executions slammed

on 30 July 2009

The Japanese authorities hanged three death row inmates on July 28, attracting criticism throughout Asia and beyond.

2009

Japan

Article(s)

E Book review: a guidebook to the death penalty in Asia

on 10 March 2009

A new, authoritative study sheds a new light on capital punishment across Asia and may help abolitionists enhance their strategies.

2009

China

Japan

Philippines

Republic of Korea

Taiwan

Viet Nam

Article(s)

Activists oppose the death penalty across Asia

on 30 October 2008

Although European activists were slow to take action on World Day Against the Death Penalty, their Asian counterparts showed their strength, especially in the World Coalition’s target countries.

2008

India

Japan

Mongolia

Pakistan

Public Opinion 

Republic of Korea

Taiwan

Article(s)

DVD carries the voice of abolitionists in Asian languages

on 4 August 2008

A DVD released by ADPAN features a campaigning video made from interviews with international anti-death penalty activists in 13 Asian languages.

2008

China

India

Indonesia

Japan

Lao People's Democratic Republic

Mongolia

Pakistan

Philippines

Republic of Korea

Thailand

Viet Nam

Article(s)

Japanese lawyer indignant after her client is executed without notice

on 23 June 2008

On June 17, Tsutomu Miyazaki, Shinji Mutsuda and Yoshio Yamazaki were executed in Japan. Lawyer Maiko Tagusari, who defended one of the three men, denounces the rising number of executions in her country.

2008

China

Japan

Legal Representation

Taiwan

Article(s)

Executions and secrecy in Japan

on 15 April 2008

The World Coalition condemns the acceleration of executions in Japan andt the continued secrecy surrounding them.

2008

Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment

Japan

Article(s)

ADPAN: tearing down Asia’s death penalty veil of secrecy in 2008

on 3 February 2008

The majority of executions take place in Asia. But this is also the continent where campaigners have developed a fantastic regional abolitionist network, one that reaches across borders, languages and religions.

2008

China

Drug Offenses

Fair Trial

Japan

Mental Illness

Mongolia

Murder Victims' Families

Public Opinion 

Republic of Korea

Document(s)

Law, society, and capital punishment in Asia

By David T. Johnson / Franklin E. Zimring / Punishment and Society, on 1 January 2008


2008

Article

Japan


More details See the document

Students of capital punishment need to study Asia, the site of at least 85 percent and as many as 95 percent of the world’s executions. This article explores the varieties of Asian capital punishment in two complementary ways. Cross-sectionally, the impression of uniformity that comes from classifying 95 percent of the population of Asia as living in executing states breaks down when closer attention is paid to the character of capital punishment policy within retentionist nations. Temporally, the general trajectory of capital punishment in the Asian region seems downward (though generalizations about patterns in this part of the world are undermined by significant data problems). Asia is also a useful territory for testing the generality of theories of capital punishment based on European experience. Looking forward, Japan and South Korea, two developed nations in Asia that still retain the death penalty, may indicate what other Asian nations are likely to do as they develop. Ultimately, Asia either will become a major staging area for world-wide abolition or the campaign against capital punishment will fail to achieve global status.

  • Document type Article
  • Countries list Japan

Document(s)

The politics of increasing punitiveness and the rising populism in Japanese criminal justice policy

By Setsuo Miyazawa / Punishment and Society, on 1 January 2008


Article

Japan


More details See the document

The purpose of this article is (1) to establish that increasing punitiveness characterizes criminal justice policies in Japan and (2) to explain this trend in terms of the penal populism promoted by crime victims and supporting politicians. This article first examines newspaper articles to illuminate the increasingly punitive character of recent criminal justice policies in Japan in terms of both legislation and judicial decisions. The next section discusses the main contributing factors behind this trend and its public acceptance. The next two sections discuss two related issues: the public’s subjective sense of security, and the lack of a role for empirical criminologists in criminal justice policy making in Japan. The concluding section compares the Japanese and Anglo-American situations and argues that the same penal populism seen in Anglo-American countries is rapidly rising in Japan, and that public distrust of government has ironically increased the state’s investigative, prosecutorial, and sentencing powers in Japan. This article closes with the conjecture that police, prosecutors, and judges are unlikely to relinquish their increased power in the event that they gain the public’s trust and equally unlikely in the event of a change of the ruling party.

  • Document type Article
  • Countries list Japan
  • Themes list Networks,

Document(s)

The People Decide: The Effect of the Introduction of the Quasi-Jury System (Saiban-In Seido) on the Death Penalty in Japan

By Leah Ambler / Northwestern Journal of International Human Rights, on 1 January 2007


2007

Article

Japan


More details See the document

This article examines the potential impact of the new lay assessor system, or saiban-in seido, on capital punishment in Japan, and considers whether it may reduce death sentences to the point of effectively abolishing them at trial stage in the District Court. The article posits that the introduction of the lay assessor system may create the momentum for Japan to align its criminal justice system with that of other developed countries—that is, abolition of the death penalty as an available criminal sanction.

  • Document type Article
  • Countries list Japan
  • Themes list Networks,

Document(s)

Japan’s Secretive Death Penalty Policy: Contours, Origins, Justifications, and Meanings

By David T. Johnson / Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal, on 1 January 2006


2006

Article

Japan


More details See the document

The secrecy that surrounds capital punishment in Japan is taken to extremes not seen in other nations. This article describes the Japanese state’s policy of secrecy and explains how it developed in three historical stages: the “birth of secrecy” during the Meiji period (1867 – 1912); the creation and spread of “censored democracy” during the postwar Occupation (1945 – 1952); and the “acceleration of secrecy” during the decades that followed. The article then analyzes several justifications for secrecy that Japanese prosecutors provide. None seems cogent. The final section explores four meanings of the secrecy policy that relate to the sources of death penalty legitimacy, the salience of capital punishment, the nature of Japan’s democracy, and the role and rule of law in Japanese society.

  • Document type Article
  • Countries list Japan
  • Themes list Transparency,

Document(s)

Death by hanging

By Nagisa Oshima, on 1 January 1968


1968

Multimedia content

Japan


More details See the document
  • Document type Multimedia content
  • Countries list Japan
  • Themes list Hanging, Death Penalty,