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| Execution chamber at Tokyo's Detention Center |
Justice minister shows unwillingness to sign orders, draws fire for 'Overstepping authority'
There are now 120 prisoners on death row, the most ever, but more than 1 year has passed since a prisoner has been executed.
Justice Minister Satsuki Eda has indicated he does not intend to authorize any executions in the immediate future, but questions have been raised about whether it is appropriate that executions have essentially stopped due to the personal beliefs of the justice minister.
The most recent execution took place in July last year.
Early last month, Katsuyuki Nishikawa, chief of the Justice Ministry's Criminal Affairs Bureau, and others entered Eda's office on the 19th floor of the ministry building and presented the minister with documents showing the number of death row inmates had reached an all-time high.
The documents referred to items in the Criminal Procedure Code that stipulate the execution of death row inmates should be carried out at the order of the justice minister, and take place within six months of the death sentence being finalized.
Nishikawa and the others wanted to get a response from Eda that would establish if the minister actually intended to order executions.
According to sources, Eda stonewalled their implicit request. "An internal study group [formed last August] is still discussing the matter," Eda said.
Eda has expressed reservations about the system of capital punishment.
In an exclusive interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun conducted on July 26, he said, "False charges can be revoked in retrials, but this is impossible after a person has been executed."
After the interview appeared on Thursday, the ministry received many calls of protest from the public over Eda's remarks.
Few justice ministers have publicly indicated reluctance to authorize executions.
Megumu Sato, who became justice minister in 1990, refused to sign any execution orders, but disclosed this stance publicly only after having left the post.
When Seiken Sugiura took up the post of justice minister in 2005, he said, "I won't sign [execution orders]." He later retracted the remark, but did not authorize any executions during his 10-month tenure.
Role of minister under debate
During the past year, the number of death row inmates has risen by 13. In that period, death penalties have been finalized in 16 cases, including 2 trials conducted under the lay judge system. Three of those convicts died due to illness, and no executions have been carried out.
The 120 prisoners on death row include Chizuo Matsumoto, 56, founder of the Aum Supreme Truth cult; 11 senior members of the cult; and Masumi Hayashi, 50, convicted over a case of curry poisoning in Wakayama.
The yearlong halt on execution orders is partly attributed to the frequent replacement of justice ministers under the Democratic Party of Japan-led administration.
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| Command room (left) and execution chamber (right) at Tokyo's Detention Center |
Keiko Chiba on July 28 last year signed the order for the most recent execution conducted in this nation.
She was replaced as justice minister by Minoru Yanagida, who was "in favor of capital punishment," according to a senior official at the Justice Ministry, but was ditched as minister only two months after being appointed.
He was replaced by Yoshito Sengoku, who was kept extremely busy as he also doubled as chief cabinet secretary. He continued as justice minister for only 2 months before being succeeded by current Justice Minister Satsuki Eda.
A senior official at the ministry said Yanagida and Sengoku simply were not in office long enough to order any executions.
"It takes several months to decide on executions, because the minister needs to read up on the court documents about the inmate," the official said.
In August last year, Chiba--while she was still justice minister--set up a study group to examine the application of the death penalty. However, the group's discussions have not yet produced any significant results.
Eda said in the interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun that it would be difficult to order any executions while discussions about the death penalty are under way.
The panel, the meetings of which are closed to the public in principle, has so far solicited opinions from organizations that advocate abolition of the death penalty, and groups that represent victims of crime. It has not been decided when the panel will present its conclusion.
"The death sentence is the only penalty that is applied according to the orders of the justice minister. The minister should consider global trends," Eda said in the interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun.
Eda's remarks suggest he believes it is within the justice minister's discretion to refrain from ordering executions, but some legal experts strongly reject that idea.
Konan Law School Prof. Osamu Watanabe, an expert on criminal procedure, said: "The Criminal Procedure Code stipulates that executions should be performed within 6 months of the sentence being finalized. I think the justice minister should act in line with the system and review the possibility of false conviction within the set time limit."
Watanabe said adjustments to the current system should be made through legislation after public discussion, and that in the meantime the current rules should be upheld.
Tokyo Metropolitan University Prof. Masahide Maeda, an expert on criminal law, said: "Recently, the death penalty has been handed down in lay judge trials. If executions continue to be delayed because of politicians' personal views, public confidence in the law will be shaken.
"Executions should be carried out within the set period."
Source: Yomiuri Shimbun, August 1, 2011
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