Japan
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government
- CONSTITUTION
- May 3, 1947
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- based on the German model with Anglo-American influences; review of legislative acts by the Supreme Court
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- bicameral, House of Councillors (Sangi-in) and House of Representatives (Shugi-in)
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- Supreme Court (president appointed by the King on the recommendation of the Government, others appointed by the Government)
RELIGIONS
majority of Buddhists and Shintoists; minorities of Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox
From the country
- JANUARY 1, 2010JapanDEATH PENALTY
Japanese criminal law envisages the death penalty for 13 different...
Japanese criminal law envisages the death penalty for 13 different crimes but in practice death sentences are only handed down for murder.
- DECEMBER 28, 2009JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN: MAN WITHDRAWS DEATH SENTENCE APPEAL
a man sentenced to death for killing two people and injuring seven during a knife spree in Japan’s Ibaraki Prefecture withdrew his appeal.
- DECEMBER 18, 2009JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPANESE MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR STABBING SPREE
in Japan, Mito District Court presiding judge Shinichi Suzushima sentenced Masahiro Kanagawa, 26, to death. Kanagawa allegedly killed two people and wounded seven in knife attacks outside a shopping centre in Tsuchiura in March 2008.
- DECEMBER 11, 2009JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN: TOP COURT UPHOLDS DEATH FOR CULTIST
Seishi Kanetsuki, presiding judge on the First Petty Bench of the Japanese Supreme Court, upheld the death sentence of former Aum Shinrikyo cultist Yoshihiro Inoue, 39.
- DECEMBER 4, 2009JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN: SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE FOR EX-INSURANCE AGENT
Presiding Justice Yuki Furuta of the Japanese Supreme Court upheld the death sentence of a former insurance agent convicted of killing a couple in Kitami, Hokkaido, in 1988.
- DECEMBER 2, 2009JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN: MINISTER- IT WON’T BE EASY BUT WE WILL ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY
the Japanese Government will work to abolish the death penalty, Financial Services
DECEMBER 2, 2009JapanDEATH PENALTYJAPAN: ARSONIST GETS DEATH SENTENCE FOR KILLING 16
A Japanese court sentenced to death an arsonist who killed 16 people when he set fire to an all-night adult
- NOVEMBER 11, 2009JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN: APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE IN OSAKA
the Osaka High Court in Japan upheld the death sentence of Ryoji Kagayama, 59, for fatally stabbing Chinese student Han Ying, 24, in July 2000, and office worker Akira Morinaga, 30, in February 2008, while robbing them.
- NOVEMBER 6, 2009JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN: DEATH SENTENCE AFFIRMED IN SARIN ATTACK
in Japan, the Second Petty Bench of the Supreme Court rejected appeals by Toru Toyota, 41, and Kenichi Hirose, 45, who were convicted of murder in the 1995 sarin subway attack.
- OCTOBER 14, 2009JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN: HIGH COURT UPHOLDS DEATH PENALTY FOR TRIPLE MURDER
Presiding Judge Hideki Shibata of the Takamatsu High Court in Japan upheld the death penalty for Masanori Kawasaki, 63, for killing his sister-in-law Keiko Miura, 58, and her two granddaughters Akane, 5, and Ayana Yamashita, 3.
SEPTEMBER 30, 2009JapanDEATH PENALTYJAPAN: JUSTICE MINISTER HOPES FOR GREATER TRANSPARENCY ON DEATH PENALTY
following her appointment as Japanese Justice Minister, Keiko Chiba hoped to create a forum for debate.
SEPTEMBER 29, 2009JapanDEATH PENALTYJAPAN: MAN WHO KILLED MAYOR HAS DEATH PENALTY COMMUTED
Tetsuya Shiroo’s death sentence for murdering Nagasaki Mayor Iccho Ito was commuted to life