Japan | Same-day execution notification violates Constitution: Osaka Court

The following article was Google translated from the Japanese. Read the original article here.

On the 28th, a lawsuit was concluded at the Osaka District Court in which two death row inmates demanded a total of 22 million yen in damages from the government, alleging that the practice of announcing executions on the same day violates the constitution.

The verdict will be handed down on April 15 next year.

The plaintiffs pointed out that until the mid-1970s, there were several cases in which notice was given up to the previous day.

As evidence, a death row inmate was notified two days before his execution in 1955, and he submitted a tape recording of him meeting with his family, as well as audio of the execution by hanging.

He further argued that under the current system of announcing the death row on the same day, there is no time for death row inmates to lodge an appeal or say their final goodbyes to their families. ``This violates Article 31 of the Constitution, which states that no punishment can be imposed unless due process is followed.''

The government, on the other hand, explains that there was a case in which a death row inmate committed suicide after being notified the day before, and that the system was changed to the current method. He counters that the Constitution does not guarantee death row inmates the right to request advance notice, and that there is no law specifying the timing of notice.

"The current operation was chosen for the purpose of smooth execution and risk avoidance,'' the [government] said, asking for the claim to be dismissed.

Source: Asahi Shimbun, Yusuke Morishita, November 28, 2023

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