Japan: Calls grow for public debate on executions

Execution chamber
at Tokyo's Detention Center

Thirteen influential people have issued a statement calling for public debate on capital punishment and urging the government to suspend executions while discussions are ongoing.

"It is now necessary to launch a thorough parliamentary debate on the death penalty, and executions should be suspended while the discussions are being held," they said in a statement.

Recent acquittals of people previously sentenced to life in prison in murder cases "have stirred doubts over past death sentences. . . . We should not accelerate executions at this time," their statement, released Tuesday, says.

Among those who issued the statement are Tatsuya Mori, known for his documentary films on Aum Shinrikyo; Kanae Doi, Japan director for Human Rights Watch; and Akira Kitani, a former judge who is now a professor in Hosei University's law school.

The Japan Federation of Bar Association made a similar call at its annual human rights meeting in October.

The 13th death sentence for Aum Shinrikyo members was effectively finalized last month for a series of crimes, including the 1995 sarin attack on the Tokyo subway system.

According to human rights groups, 84 inmates have been hanged since 1993, when executions were resumed following a 3-year moratorium.

The last hanging was in July 2010, when then Justice Minister Keiko Chiba, a qualified lawyer and former member of a group of Diet members opposed to the death penalty, approved the execution of two inmates.

In an unusual move, she attended the hangings and later allowed the media to visit the execution chamber at the Tokyo Detention House in a bid to stir public debate.

Current Justice Minister Hideo Hiraoka has shown reluctance to approve any executions, stressing the need for national debate on the death penalty.

However, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura has told the Diet that the Cabinet of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has no intention of abolishing executions.

He made the statement even though the ruling Democratic Party of Japan showed readiness in its "policy index 2009" to seek public discussions on issues surrounding the death penalty, including a temporary suspension of executions.

Source: Japan Times, December 15, 2011