Growing Opposition to Japan’s Death Penalty

A Hanging Hiatus

There has been a pause on executions in Japan since that of Katō Tomohiro, perpetrator of the 2008 Akihabara massacre in Tokyo, who was hung on July 26, 2022 at the Tokyo Detention House. The hiatus has lasted over two and a half years, the longest break since Japan’s Ministry of Justice began publicizing the names and crimes of death row prisoners in 2007.

Since the acquittal of Hakamata Iwao in September 2024 following a retrial, Japan’s death penalty system has again received much global attention.

Japan has been criticized for its secrecy concerning executions, details of which are not released by the Ministry of Justice, although it is known that death row inmates are kept in solitary confinement and not advised of the timing of their execution until immediately prior. But the retrial and acquittal of Hakamata has again thrown a spotlight on the issues surrounding the death penalty, and growing criticism of Japan from abroad is believed to be discouraging the Ministry of Justice from re-starting executions.

In November 2024, special rapporteurs appointed by the UN Human Rights Council issued a report to the Japanese government highlighting concerns with Japan’s capital punishment system. Rapporteurs are tasked with conducting investigations based on reliable information, and notifying the relevant government if they suspect any violation of international law. This was the first time specific notice regarding capital punishment was issued to the Japanese government.

The rapporteurs criticized the fact that death row inmates are only informed of their execution on the morning it takes place, and the family is only notified after the fact, as well as stating that hanging was inhumane, constituting a possible violation of international law. These points have also been raised for many years by lawyers and citizens’ groups in Japan.

Solitary Confinement and a Sudden End

Death row prisoners whose verdicts have been finalized are transferred to detention centers equipped for execution, which are located in seven cities: Sapporo, Sendai, Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Hiroshima and Fukuoka. According to the Act on Penal Detention Facilities and Treatment of Inmates and Detainees, “attention shall be paid to help him/her maintain peace of mind,” but the Ministry of Justice uses this as the basis for a policy of restricting inmates’ contact with the outside world as much as possible.

Prisoners are generally allowed to receive visitors and exchange letters, but after a death sentence has been handed down, contact is limited to family or other specially authorized persons. Until the mid-1970s, death row inmates were incarcerated together, and were allowed to exercise together and even keep pet birds in their cells. But now, they spend the majority of each day in their rooms. There have even been cases where solitary confinement has led to language impairment.

In addition, inmates are only given one or two hours’ notice prior to their execution. The Ministry of Justice claims that advance notice would potentially cause extreme emotional distress to the individual, but critics state that the current system, where inmates spend years in solitary confinement in constant fear of their execution causes additional suffering.

Until the mid-1970s, inmates were given one or two days’ notice, and were allowed family visits. The much shorter period was introduced following a number of suicides by inmates after they received notice.

The impact of the current treatment of death row inmates is evidenced in the condition of Hakamata Iwao, who spent over 30 fearful years in solitary confinement before being acquitted of the 1966 murders for which he was originally sentenced to death in 1980. The emotional damage he suffered has impaired his ability to communicate. In a letter to a supporter, one inmate wrote that “Those on death row have their lives taken from them in execution, but after their death sentence is formalized, they are cut off from society and their existence is erased from society.” Japan’s treatment of those on death row is even more isolating than that of the United States, which also retains the death penalty.

Cruelty of Hanging

Another issue raised is the cruelty of execution by hanging.

In a 1955 ruling referring to the death penalty by hanging, Japan’s Supreme Court stated: “In comparison to other forms of the death penalty . . . hanging cannot be considered cruel from a humanitarian point of view.” But some researchers and lawyers believe that hanging is a brutal form of punishment due to the risk of decapitation.

In 2011, in a trial for arson-murder, the Osaka District Court heard testimony on behalf of the defense from an Austrian expert in forensic medicine, who told the court that, “Depending upon the rope length and body weight, hanging can inflict bodily harm.” Also, a retired prosecutor who had witnessed an execution described hanging as “a brutal and cruel form of punishment that is unbearable to watch,” and claimed that it met the definition of “cruel punishment” forbidden in Article 36 of the Constitution.

In relation to this case, the Osaka District Court acknowledged that, in some cases, during of execution by hanging, it can take over two minutes for the person to lose consciousness and he or she may continue to suffer pain, but judged that it was not a “cruel punishment” without providing any concrete basis for its assertion. In the United States, opinion that hanging was cruel lead to the introduction of the electric chair, which was later deemed inhumane itself, and has now largely been replaced with execution by lethal injection.

One Japanese journalist with reporting experience in the United States noted that “Even among supporters of capital punishment, there is a stigma attached to hanging, because it brings to mind lynchings of Black Americans and public executions.” This strong aversion to hanging underpinned the report presented to the Japanese government by the special rapporteurs.

Japan’s Insistence on Capital Punishment

Despite these issues, and criticism from abroad, the government shows no sign of reforming Japan’s system. One reason cited by the government is public support for the death penalty.

Every five years, the Cabinet Office​ surveys public opinion on the topic. In the 2019 survey, 80.8% of respondents said the death penalty was “unavoidable.” This compares with the 2009 survey (published in February 2010), when 85.6% responded “unavoidable,” the highest figure ever. Based on this, mainstream media reported that over 80% of the Japanese public approves of capital punishment.

In December 2021, when three prisoners were executed, Minister of Justice Furukawa Yoshihisa spoke at a specially convened press conference, where he stated: “I recognize that, presently, the majority of the population believes that the death penalty is unavoidable for particularly vicious or heinous crimes.” In the past, other ministers of justice have made similar statements, which is indicative of the importance the ministry places on its public opinion poll.

But no matter how much the government stresses this public support, it still withholds most specific information pertaining to executions. Meetings with death row inmates are tightly restricted, making it difficult to ascertain their day-to-day situation or emotional state. The MOJ also remains tight-lipped on the basis for determining who it executes, as well as the timing and other aspects. The minister announces to the public that an execution was carried out after the fact, at a special press conference, mainly announcing who was executed and where, as well as the crime committed. When asked for more details, there is typically no answer provided. The reason cited for the limited information is the prisoner’s “peace of mind.”

Proposals from Former Officials

Naturally, there is variance in opinion on capital punishment. But there will also be a difference in the response when concrete details are not made public compared with when they are. In the United States, the timing of executions is announced in advance, and afterward, the details are shared at a meeting attended by families of the prisoner and victims, along with journalists. Like Japan, the United States is one of the few developed countries that maintains the death penalty, but releasing the details makes public debate possible.

In February 2024, a private-sector panel was formed to discuss Japan’s capital punishment system. The group handed its findings to Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru in November. The panel consisted of 16 members, including legislators, academics, a former prosecutor general, a former commissioner general of the National Police Agency, and me.

The report highlighted the risk of miscarriage of justice​ and issues with making information public, recommending the prompt establishment of a public commission to debate the retention or abolition of capital punishment, and operation of the system itself. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa responded, “It would be inappropriate to abolish the death penalty,” and rejected the idea of establishing a commission.

According to a report from human rights organization Amnesty International, as of December 31, 2023, some 144, or 70%, of United Nations member countries had abolished the death penalty in law or had not executed anyone during the last 10 years or more. Despite the Japanese government’s claim of practicing “human rights diplomacy,” it is in the minority in respect to capital punishment.

(Originally published in Japanese. Banner photo: Yamada Hideo, at left, chief public prosecutor at the Shizuoka District Public Prosecutors Office, apologizes in November 2024 in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, to Hakamata Iwao, center right, at his home in Shizuoka Prefecture after a retrial found him not guilty of four murders of in 1966. © Kyōdō.)