First two executions in Japan since new Government took power last year
The first executions in Japan since the new government took power last year have taken place today after two death row inmates were hanged. The two prisoners, both convicted killers, were hanged at the Tokyo Detention Centre.
28 July 2010, 12:00am
Charlot Zahra
Charlot Zahra
1 min read
Justice Minister Keiko Chiba, who opposed the death penalty, witnessed the executions and announced the formation of a group to review the death penalty.
However, opinion polls showed broad support for capital punishment in Japan.
The two men executed were Kazuo Shinozawa, 59, convicted of killing six women in a jewellery shop fire, and Hidenori Ogata, 33, who killed a man and a woman in 2003.
Chiba told journalists that as justice minister she believed it was her duty to witness the executions in person.
"It made me again think deeply about the death penalty, and I once again strongly felt that there is a need for a fundamental discussion about the death penalty," she insisted.
Chiba's appointment in September, when the new Democratic Party-led government came to power, was seen as a sign that debate could be opened on the issue.
A total of 107 inmates remained on death row in Japan. Prisoners were usually executed two or three at a time.
Last year, a report from rights group Amnesty International had called for an immediate moratorium on executions in Japan, saying that harsh conditions on death row were driving inmates insane.
