Tokyo Detention House, which houses one of Japan's seven execution chambers
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Japan. In practice, it is applied only for aggravated murder, but the current Penal Code and several laws list 14 capital crimes, including conspiracy to commit civil war; conspiracy with a foreign power to provoke war against Japan; murder; obstruction of the operation of railroads, ships, or airplanes resulting in the death of the victim; poisoning of the water supply resulting in the death of the victim; intentional flooding; use of a bomb; and arson of a dwelling; all resulting in the death of the victim.[1] Executions are carried out by long drop hanging, and take place at one of the seven execution chambers located in major cities across the country.
Death sentences are usually passed in cases of multiple murders, although there have been some extremely grave cases where individuals who committed a single murder have been sentenced to death and executed, such as those involving torture, extreme brutality or kidnapping with a demand for ransom.[2][3]
Since 2000, 98 inmates have been executed in Japan,[4] with the most recent being the execution of Tomohiro Katō, the perpetrator of the Akihabara massacre in 2008, who was executed on 26 July 2022.[5] There are currently 107 death row inmates awaiting execution.[6] Support for capital punishment has consistently been high among the Japanese public. In a poll conducted in November 2019 of 3,000 Japanese adults by the Cabinet Office, 80.8% of respondents stated they support the continued usage of the death penalty in Japan, while 9% stated it should be abolished in all cases. When the question proposed the introduction of life sentencing without parole, 35.1% answered that the death penalty should be abolished, while 52.0% said it should continue.[7] Actual support for the retention of the death penalty in Japan is likely less than what polls suggest due to the use of leading questions.[8]
Japan is one of four developed countries to continue the death penalty. It is the third most active developed death penalty country, after Singapore, and the United States.[citation needed] Japan and the United States are the only two out of the "Group of Seven" nations that carry out capital punishment.[9]
^死刑を法定刑に定める罪（参照条文） (PDF) (in Japanese). Ministry of Justice (Japan). Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 October 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
^"LIST OF DEFENDANTS WHO ARE UNDER SENTENCE OF DEATH IN JAPAN". 13 September 2018. Archived from the original on 18 September 2013. Death penalty for a single murder is quite rare.
^"To advise lay judges, Supreme Court institute cites death penalty precedents". japantimes.co.jp. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
^"Capital Punishment in Japan". nippon.com. 27 July 2022. Archived from the original on 1 January 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
^"Assailant in Tokyo's Akihabara fatal rampage executed". Japan Times. 26 July 2022. Archived from the original on 28 July 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
^"Japan hangs three death-row inmates in first executions since 2019". The Japan Times. 21 December 2021. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2022. Following Tuesday's executions, the number of inmates sitting on death row in Japan stands at 107.
^"Poll Reveals More than 80% Support Death Penalty in Japan". nippon.com. 4 February 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
^"Why Japan retains the death penalty". The Economist. 26 April 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2024. But popular zeal for the death penalty may be less solid than it looks. Government surveys use leading questions that favour retention.
^"Japanese man sentenced to death for 2021 crimes as minor". Free Malaysia Today. 18 January 2024.
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