No executions carried out in Japan for over 2 years

TOKYO — Japan has not carried out any executions for over two years, a notable shift from its previous practice of executing death row inmates every few months under the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) government.

This suspension in executions may be linked to the dismissal of the justice minister in 2022 following controversial comments about the death penalty and the ongoing retrial of Iwao Hakamata, an elderly former death row inmate convicted of a 1966 quadruple murder, experts suggest.

The last execution in Japan took place on July 26, 2022, when 39-year-old Tomohiro Kato was hanged for a 2008 rampage in Tokyo's Akihabara district that resulted in seven deaths and ten injuries. The execution was authorized by then Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa, who resigned the following month. Yasuhiro Hanashi succeeded Furukawa but was dismissed by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida three months later for making comments that were perceived as dismissive of his role in authorizing executions.

Hanashi described the justice minister role as "low-key," only making headlines when signing off on execution orders, just days before his dismissal in November 2022.

The retrial of 88-year-old Hakamata began last October at the Shizuoka District Court, raising hopes for his acquittal when the verdict is announced on September 26. Hakamata, once the world's longest-serving death row inmate, had his mental health deteriorate after his 1968 conviction until new evidence led to his release in 2014.

Japan's capital punishment system faces international criticism for its lack of transparency, with death row inmates typically being informed of their execution only hours before it occurs. However, a 2019 government poll showed that only 9.0% of respondents supported abolishing the death penalty, while 80.8% felt it was inevitable.

As of the end of June, the Justice Ministry reported 108 finalized death sentences. The criminal procedure law mandates that executions occur within six months of a final ruling, but from 2014 to 2023, the average time between final rulings and executions was about nine years.

Under the LDP’s return to power in December 2012, Justice Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki oversaw 11 executions before September 2014. In 2018, then Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa authorized the execution of 13 members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult, including its leader Shoko Asahara.

There were no executions from December 2019 to December 2021, a period which included the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in 2021, as well as a controversial 2020 Diet debate on extending the retirement age of a high-ranking prosecutor close to then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

A similar halt occurred from November 1989 for over three years following a retrial that acquitted a death row inmate. The U.N. General Assembly adopted an optional protocol aimed at abolishing the death penalty in December 1989, which Japan has yet to sign.