Japan maintains the death penalty, while questioning it
The death penalty still exists in Japan. The execution method is hanging.
Keystone-ATS
Japan is part, with the United States, of the rare OECD countries still practicing the death penalty. The Japanese expert in criminal law Makoto Ida explains why the country is camping on its positions despite international pressure.
Over the past ten years, Japan has executed more than 90 people. The country belongs, with the United States, to the few democracies and industrialized countries which apply the death penalty. The vast majority of Japanese are favorable. Switzerland and the European Union have however asked Tokyo several times to abandon this practice.
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Switzerland does not know any neutrality in matters of death penalty
This content was published on
10 oct. 2024
Switzerland remains firmly opposed barely of death in the world, but must see that the number of executions tends to increase.
Read more Switzerland does not know any neutrality in matters of death penalty
It is very unlikely that Japan will soon abolish the death penalty. However, a debate emerged since a working group of the Japanese lawyer association published its expert report in November 2024.
According to these specialists, the death penalty system cannot be maintained in its current form. The report identifies the main problems in the following areas: risk of judicial errors, prospect of victims, execution procedures and disclosure of information. The text asks the government and the Parliament to set up a public body responsible for studying these questions in depth and presenting concrete proposals for reform aimed at abolishing or suspending the death penalty.
In an interview with Swissinfo.ch, Makoto Ida, president of the group and professor at the CHUO University Law School, details the reflections of experts and experts, the current situation in the country and the reason for maintaining such a practice.
Makoto IDAborn in 1956, is a professor at the CHUO University Graduate School of Law since 2016. This expert in criminal law has been a member of the Japanese scientific council, member of the board of directors of the Japanese law association and member of the Legislative Council .
He obtained his doctorate at the Faculty of Law of the University of Cologne and was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Sarre and the Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. In 2015, it was decorated with the cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and, in 2023, of the medal of the order of Merit in purple.
Swissinfo.ch: The report of your working group criticizes the death penalty, declaring it harmful to the national interest of Japan. What does that mean?
Makoto IDA: It is about the international image of Japan. If Tokyo is expressed, for example, in a critical way on human rights issues in other countries, they could react by saying: “With you, you still apply the death penalty”. This decreases the credibility of Japan and weakens his voice in global discussions on human rights.
Makoto IDA
DR
In Europe, the idea that the state should never take a human life, whatever the circumstances, is deeply rooted. The Japanese conscience of human rights seems very different in this regard.
In Japan, when we mention the human rights of people who have committed crimes, there are always counter arguments: “What about the human rights of the victims?” One cannot respond with a concept as simple as the “human rights guarantee” and obtain the abolition of the death penalty.
Many people would undoubtedly be more convinced by the abolition of this practice if they were confronted with the cruel conditions of preceding detention, sometimes for decades. We should discuss it more concretely.
Switzerland and the EU have urged Japan to abolish the death penalty on several occasions. Can the pressure from abroad have an effect?
It is unlikely that Japan will be directly favorable to the abolition of the death penalty, but that could perhaps lead to a slowdown in executions. In South Korea, for example, the death penalty is still in force, but executions no longer take place. This could be a possible approach to Japan.
Shizuoka prefecture police chief Takayoshi Tsuda apologizes to the former Japanese death sentence Iwao Hakamada for the decades of suffering he endured in Hakamada’s house. October 21, 2024.
Keystone-ATS
Switzerland practices internment for life. The report of your working group also proposes to replace the death penalty with a perpetuity penalty without parole.
In Japan, the prison sentence is already de facto imprisonment for life. For me, it would rather be necessary to discuss the way in which measures can be taken to prevent upstream crimes like the drifts of the AUM sect.
Japanese legislation heavily represses crimes once they have been committed, but it is less effective than that of European and United States to prevent serious crimes.
Europe is – at least in my opinion – a surveillance company and takes severe measures. Authorities can listen to conversations and emails to collect evidence before a crime is not committed, if they have suspicions. In Germany, for example, there is security detention. People who are estimated to be that they are likely to commit serious crimes can be locked up for life.
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What does “life imprisonment” mean in Swiss law?
This content was published on
15 mar. 2018
The trial of a quadruple sordid murder reopens the debate on life detention in Switzerland. Because here, “for life” does not mean “until the end of his days”.
Read more than “life imprisonment” in Swiss law?
Are you personally opposed to the death penalty?
The death penalty must be abolished, even if there is a risk of increased crime. The rule of law does not allow us to do whatever we want simply because it seems effective.
In Japan, we know very little about how executions take place. What improvements would you like in terms of transparency?
The official position of the Ministry of Justice is that this information cannot be published because it is private data. However, we recommend that the circumstances of the executions, and the reasons for the prolonged detentions which precede them, be made public without the people being identified.
Without transparency, we cannot, for example, even estimate whether hanging is an appropriate method of execution.
The abolition of the death penalty has been the subject of political initiatives worldwide. But in Japanese political circles, discussions seem to advance very slowly.
A parliamentarian opposed to the death penalty said to me one day: “If I campaign for the abolition of the death penalty in my constituency, I will immediately lose thousands of votes”. This award is normal for Japanese citizens. This is why politicians have the feeling of not being able to position themselves publicly in favor of its abolition.
In a recent survey carried out in SwitzerlandExternal link20% of those questioned said they would support the reintroduction of the death penalty.
In Germany too, opinion polls show that 20 to 30% are favorable. But in Japan, this proportion represents 80% of the population. However, a debate should take place.
In Japan, the Supreme Court decided in 1948 that the death penalty was in accordance with the Constitution. You think
the opposite.
I am of the opinion that the Constitution is a historical document which can naturally be interpreted differently over time. The Japanese Constitution should not be frozen in its 1946 interpretation, the date of its entry into force.
Constitutional reform is more complicated in Japan than in Switzerland. Is it possible to abolish the death penalty without modifying the Constitution?
Constitutional science now agrees that the Constitution does not prohibit the abolition of the death penalty. Just modify the penal code and the code of criminal procedure.
Do you think Japan will abolish the death penalty in the near future?
It is unlikely. We could however consider suspension for about 20 years. When people feel that the country can do without it, Japan could abolish it.
Text reread and verified by Benjamin von Wyl, translated from German by Lucie Donzé/Ptur
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