Japan: A call for death penalty debate

Keiko Chiba

Until July 28, no executions had been carried out for a year in Japan, with death row convicts numbering a record 109. On that day, 2 inmates were hanged in the Tokyo Detention House.

Justice Minister Keiko Chiba, a human rights lawyer who used to be a member of a Diet members' league for the abolition of the death penalty, ordered the executions. Moreover, she witnessed them — probably the first justice minister to do so.

Torn apart between her personal belief and duty as justice minister, Ms. Chiba must have had a hard time. After the executions, she said, "(Seeing the executions) forced me to think deeply again about the death penalty." She said she will set up in her ministry a panel to discuss the death penalty, including whether it should be continued, and open the gallows at the detention house to mass media coverage.

Because capital punishment in Japan has been veiled in secrecy, wide public discussions are needed. The Justice Ministry started announcing executions and the number of inmates executed as late as November 1998, followed by the names of inmates executed and the places where the executions took place in December 2007.

Already 139 countries have abolished the death penalty or suspended executions for a long time. Japan is among the 57 countries that maintain capital punishment. The panel must get and disclose concrete information on the relationship between the existence or nonexistence of the death penalty and the occurrence of serious crimes.

In a December 2009 government poll, 86 percent of those surveyed supported capital punishment. With the lay judge system in place, the possibility cannot be ruled out that citizens have to hand down death sentences.

It is all the more important that full information be provided to citizens about capital punishment and that they develop well-informed opinions. The panel should include people from outside the Justice Ministry and should take into account the opinions and feelings of death row inmates. Ms. Chiba should consider calls from various groups for suspending executions while the panel's discussions are going on.

Source: Editorial, Japan Times, July 31, 2010

Chiba persuaded to carry out her 'duty'

Justice Minister Keiko Chiba surprised the nation by ordering 2 executions, apparently after ministry officials persuaded her to fulfill her duty by citing a Cabinet survey that showed support for the death penalty in excess of 85 %.

Chiba, an opponent of capital punishment, attended the executions Wednesday at the Tokyo Detention House. Afterward, she announced plans for a study group to discuss capital punishment and to allow the media to see inside execution chambers.

Early Wednesday morning, Chiba went straight from her home in Yokohama to the detention center. Though usually clad in bright pinks and greens, Chiba wore a gray suit on the day.

Tokyo Detention Center

The execution chamber in the Tokyo Detention House is a 2-story facility. After being informed that the sentence will be carried out, the death-row inmate is moved to the execution chamber where the condemned criminal stands on a trapdoor. After having a noose placed around his or her neck, a prison officer pushes a button in an adjacent room and the prisoner falls through the trapdoor.

The inmates executed Wednesday were Kazuo Shinozawa, 59, and Hidenori Ogata, 33.

The ministry's criminal affairs bureau chief, the head of the detention house, and prosecutors and officials from the Tokyo High Prosecutors Office watched the executions with Chiba through a glass wall. The executions were completed by about 10 a.m.

Ministry officials said Chiba appeared tense and pale after returning to the ministry.

According to high-ranking ministry officials, Chiba gradually changed her mind regarding executions, finally deciding to sign the execution orders after being persuaded by ministry officials, who wanted to avoid having zero executions during Chiba's tenure.

A high-ranking ministry official said that this spring, Chiba began to refer to the signing of death penalty orders as "one of the minister's duties."

"The minister might have decided to sign the execution orders before the House of Councillors election. I distributed trial records on the 2 death-row inmates before the election," the official said.

The Justice Ministry explained to Chiba that the public would find it difficult to understand why she keeps avoiding signing execution orders, especially as the lay judge system has forced even ordinary people to make difficult decisions concerning the death penalty.

The ministry official also attributed Chiba's decision to the fact that public support for the death penalty reached a record high of 85.6 percent in a February Cabinet survey.

In the recent election, Chiba lost her Diet seat, and she might have been criticized if she signed an execution order as a private citizen. For this reason, Chiba told the ministry last week that she would sign an execution order and also attend the execution.

On Saturday--one day before Chiba's tenure as a lawmaker expired--she signed the execution orders at her ministry office.

Stressing the need for raising nationwide discussions about capital punishment after being appointed justice minister, Chiba has also said execution chambers should be open to the media. Some ministry officials, however, have expressed concern that merely opening execution chambers to the public, while continuing to delay executions, would send a message that the ministry is going to abolish the death penalty.

Chiba and the ministry finally reached a compromise in that information should be disclosed at the time of an execution.

"While public interest in the country's criminal justice system has been increasing, each person may eventually be asked to shoulder the responsibility of making a decision [on the death penalty]. I'd like to publicize the results of the study group, which I hope will lead to a nationwide discussion of capital punishment," Chiba told reporters.

Concrete plans for the study group and a date for opening execution chambers to the media have yet to be announced.

However, these proposals will surely help expose this country's closed system of capital punishment to public scrutiny, and lead to a new phase of discussions on the issue.

Source: Yomiuri Shimbun, July 31, 2010