Justice Minister Eisuke Mori supports the death penalty because it helps maintain the social order and eases the mental pain of crime victims' families.Though he was vague during an interview Wednesday on whether he will have death-row inmates sent to the gallows, he said he will follow in the footsteps of recent justice ministers.
His immediate predecessor, Okiharu Yasuoka, signed off on three executions even though he held the office for only about a month, and Yasuoka's predecessor, Kunio Hatoyama, ordered 13 executions during his 12-month stint, the most hangings by a single justice minister since at least 1993.
Mori, who until now has never held a Cabinet post and effectively has no legal background, also said the optimal interval between finalization of a death sentence and execution is "in principle 6 months," although it tends to be longer as defense attorneys normally file requests for retrials or
pardons.
There are currently 102 inmates whose death sentences have been finalized, a Justice Ministry official said, but he declined to say how many of them have been waiting for more than 6 months.
"We should respect judges' decisions" in handing down capital punishment, Mori said of part of the reason he believes the 6-month interval is optimal.
He added it may be better to set up a standard rule because "it's not advisable that the number of executions varies depending on who is justice minister."
Seiken Sugiura, who was justice minister from October 2005 to September 2006, ordered no executions because of his devout Buddhist beliefs.
There have been discussions on introducing a new sentence of life in prison with no possibility of parole. Mori, however, said it would be harsh to detain people without hope of being released.
Source: Japan Times
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