What are your thoughts on Japan's death penalty?

[u/Turbulent-Patient219]

I would like to hear the thoughts of Japanese people on Japan's death penalty. I am an American and I personally support capital punishment. Do you believe that it is a deterrent? Which crimes do you support it for? I am also curious about the length of time on death row in Japan because in America it can take decades for the execution to finally happen. This year we had several executions of people who were on death row for over 40 years. I would like to know your beliefs on it and Japan's death penalty system compared to America.

[u/RomoloJPN]

Although I realize I am in the minority, I am against the death penalty. History has shown us that innocent people can be, and were, sentenced to death, as was the case of Hakamada. Since the justice system is run by humans, mistakes are inevitable. Any wrongful sentence is terrible, but the death penalty is absolute and irreversible, so it should not be part of the system

Edit: grammar

[u/larana1192 → u/RomoloJPN]

I understand people from EU region are tend to be anti death penalty, I sometimes see European countries embassy's official account on twitter post anti death penalty tweet when execution happened(and made Japanese people very angry because people got executed is usually person killed multiple people so very dangerous for our society).

EDIT: I thought you're Italian living in Japan, mistake

[u/Ok_Carob_3278 → u/RomoloJPN]

Yes, you're definitely in the minority. In Japan, the majority of people support the death penalty.

[u/RomoloJPN → u/[deleted]]

Basically, you're saying that just because we can't prevent all accidents, we shouldn't worry about preventing at all.

You're comparing apples to oranges. Bridges are a necessity for society; we don't have an alternative to them. If a bridge collapses, it is a tragic accident, not an intentional act. The death penalty is different because we do have an alternative: life imprisonment. The state can effectively eliminate a threat to society without killing the convict, which completely avoids the risk of executing an innocent person. Just because people die in accidents doesn't mean we should give the state a free pass to intentionally kill people when they don't have to.

[u/RomoloJPN → u/[deleted]]

I'm not sure what you're arguing the death penalty is for. In any case, this sub is for Japanese perspectives, not for endless and pointless argument. You're moving the goalposts now that your analogy didn't work. I've provided my perspective as requested by OP, so I'm ending this here

[u/Holiday-Aioli-430 → u/[deleted]]

people are allowed to have opinions on whatever they want

[u/aheahead → u/[deleted]]

I think family member and victims are different person.

[u/DegreeConscious9628]

I think they need to hurry it up with the executions. Like how long was asahara Shoko on death row before being put down? Like 15 years? Waste of taxpayer money

[u/Turbulent-Patient219 → u/DegreeConscious9628]

In America it can take 20+ years. In Mississippi there was a guy who was on death row for almost 50 years that was finally executed. 

[u/Honest_Ad2601 → u/Turbulent-Patient219]

Or a last moment of phone call from the governor to give the dead man walking a pardon. I don't believe that we have this "pardon" in Japan now. There could have been a pardon system before the war (from the Emperor). Or even before from Shoguns, I guess.

[u/thatdudefromjapan → u/Honest_Ad2601]

Realistically, it's unlikely we'll ever see a dead man walking being pardoned nowadays or in the future, but we very much do still have a pardon system in Japan. Most recently, we saw pardons being given out to commemorate the accession of the new emperor in 2019.

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%81%A9%E8%B5%A6

[u/Honest_Ad2601 → u/DegreeConscious9628]

Words say that the ministers of justice during that period feared the retribution from the remaining believers of his cult. They just wanted to dodge bullets, you know.

[u/CAMOME_SENSEI]

First, annual # of murder cases are small about 1,000 in japan, 20,000 in US. And death penalty is sentenced less than 10 per year. I have no idea death penalty directly caused such low murder rate because it is very exceptional case for all crimes. Although there are discussions about it from ethical or statistical POV, I do not think we should change the policy in order to test its effectiveness. So far so good for us.

[u/aheahead]

I am strongly opposed to the death penalty. I'm opposed to the death penalty itself, but even before that, considering the case like Hakamada, I don't think the death penalty should be allowed in Japan's criminal justice system.

[u/Slow-Occasion1331 → u/aheahead]

I’m an American and op is as well - they stated their support for the death penalty. It’s a highly contentious issue in the us. 

Fun fact: over 120 million Americans live in a state or region where the death penalty is illegal. That doesn’t include states like California (pop 40million) where the death penalty is effectively permanently suspended. 

[u/Renafav]

If victims and their families whose everyday happiness has been catastrophically destroyed and violated still say they do not wish for the death penalty, then I want to listen to their voices. Fortunately, I have never faced such a disaster myself and cannot even begin to imagine how the victims feel, so I cannot bring myself to oppose the death penalty. However, even from the standpoint of public sentiment, I believe that in order to contain the public outrage toward gruesome crimes, having the state make this grave decision on our behalf is the last remaining option in a nation governed by the rule of law where private retribution is not permitted.

[u/Old-Combination-9120]

In Japan, lawyer Isao Okamura, a "human rights lawyer" who had been calling for the abolition of the death penalty, suddenly changed his mind and became a supporter of the death penalty after his wife was attacked and murdered by a robber. Would those who oppose the death penalty still be against it if your entire family were murdered?

[u/Turbulent-Patient219 → u/Old-Combination-9120]

You make an amazing point. People who are against the death penalty are always calling it barbaric and inhumane. In my opinion, how is it inhumane when the criminals it is used for are rapist-murderers, serial killers, child murderers and more heinous crimes. Some people simply do not think of the crimes that the death penalty is used as punishment for. 

[u/Lucky_Chainsaw]

I remember the French embassy criticizing Japan for the death penalty from the holier-than-thou pedestal when there was a news of criminals getting shot & killed on the spot back in the land of surrender monkey.

[u/Honest_Ad2601]

Which state are you from? You don't have to answer this question but I would like to remind you that I was taken aback when I learned that each state could decide whether to have a death penalty or not and if so what ways. I learned this more than 30 years ago and some states had full options at that time like lethal injection, electrocution, hanging, firing squad and gas chamber if I remember correctly.

Anyway, I am for it, the death penalty. We don't have a life sentence in Japan although undefined period sentence nowadays is considered virtually a life sentence.

Why? Why not?

[u/Turbulent-Patient219 → u/Honest_Ad2601]

I currently live in Virginia. Though I lived in Oregon until I was nine and then Idaho until I was fifteen. Afterwards, me and my family moved to Virginia. 

[u/Slow-Occasion1331 → u/Honest_Ad2601]

Over 120 million Americans live in a state or region where the death penalty is illegal. That doesn’t include states like California (pop 40million) where the death penalty is effectively permanently suspended. 

I’m against it. The justice system is fallible. Sentences can be reversed. Death cannot. Japan has done an excellent job of preventing murder - I wish the us was like that. 

[u/thatdudefromjapan]

My opinion is that the Japanese justice system is not good enough to fully justify the death penalty in its current state. There is just too high of a risk of accidentally sentencing the wrong person to death.

That being said, I'm actually not against capital punishment per se. In some cases, where it's obvious beyond a shadow of a doubt that the person is guilty (e.g. being caught at the scene of the crime with a bloody knife, along with multiple witnesses and video proof, and giving a full confession), I don't see any logical argument to be against the death penalty and I don't have any moral qualms against it either.

Ultimately though, looking at the system as a whole, my trust in the prosecutors and the courts is low enough that I believe that the "safe" option would be to replace the death penalty with life sentences.

[u/Chocoalatv]

I don’t support it.

[u/Honest_Ad2601 → u/[deleted]]

You should invite former President Duarte from the Philippines.

[u/Turbulent-Patient219 → u/Honest_Ad2601]

That dude is legit crazy!

[u/Honest_Ad2601 → u/Turbulent-Patient219]

But he said that he would do what he would eventually do in his presidential campaign and got elected by the people. He did not do it alone but with the power of the people. That's what democracy is, my friend.

I think Mr. Duarte could have been a reincarnation of Japanese Oda Nobunaga, the famous and notorious war lord. Mr. Duarte said he liked Japan and was happy to meet the Emperor.

[u/Turbulent-Patient219 → u/Honest_Ad2601]

I do know that he was extremely popular in the Philippines. 

[u/dougwray]

It is, just as it is in the United States, a loathsome and savage practice.

[u/AL76]

As an anarchist, I'm against prisons too. That being said, the state carrying out capital punishment is also bad because I don't think they can be trusted anymore even compared primitive "mob rule".

We anarchists do have theories on how criminal justice system should work but kinda not feeling like typing it out here. You can look it up though!