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
- JULY 4, 2023JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN: SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE FOR MAN OVER MURDERS
The Japanese Supreme Court on July 3, 2023 upheld the death sentence for a man convicted over the deaths of three people, scrapping his appeal to finalize the ultimate penalty handed down to him in earlier district and high court rulings.
JUNE 5, 2023JapanDEATH PENALTYJAPAN: SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS MAN'S DEATH SENTENCE FOR MANILA MURDERS
The Supreme Court on June 5, 2023 upheld a death sentence for a man convicted of murdering two other Japanese men in Manila in 2014 and 2015, rejecting his appeal to have the ruling overturned.
MARCH 15, 2023JapanDEATH PENALTYJAPAN: HIGH COURT ORDERS RETRIAL OF LONGEST-SERVING DEATH ROW CONVICT OVER 1966 MURDER CASE
The world’s longest-serving death row convict was on 13 March 2023 granted a retrial by a Japanese court in the latest twist in a legal saga dating back to the 1960s.
MARCH 7, 2023JapanDEATH PENALTYJAPAN: OSAKA HIGH COURT APPROVES POSTHUMOUS RETRIAL OF MAN OVER 1984 MURDER
A Japanese high court approved on 27 February 2023 a posthumous retrial for a man convicted of robbing and murdering a 69-year-old woman in 1984 in western Japan, upholding a lower court's decision.
NOVEMBER 29, 2022JapanDEATH PENALTYJAPAN: DEATH-ROW INMATES SEEK END TO HANGING AS INHUMANE EXECUTION
Three death-row inmates in Osaka filed a suit against the state on 29 November 2022, seeking an end to the practice of execution by hanging, claiming the method was inhumane under international conventions.
NOVEMBER 15, 2022JapanDEATH PENALTYJAPAN: JUSTICE MINISTER RESIGNS AFTER DEATH PENALTY QUIP
Japan's justice minister stepped down on November 11 evening, becoming the second minister to leave Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's cabinet over a scandal in less than a month and forcing a last-minute delay for the embattled premier's Asia tour.
- OCTOBER 25, 2022JapanDEATH PENALTY
DEATH ROW PRISONERS LAUNCH LEGAL CHALLENGE TO JAPAN’S NO-NOTICE EXECUTIONS
Two prisoners sentenced to death in Japan have launched a legal challenge against how the country applies the death penalty, Vatican News reported on 24 October 2022.
- SEPTEMBER 22, 2022Myanmar (Burma)DEATH PENALTY
JAPAN TO STOP MYANMAR MILITARY TRAINING OVER JUNTA’S EXECUTION OF ACTIVISTS
Japan’s defense ministry said on 22 September 2022 it will halt training for members of Myanmar’s military from next year over the junta’s executions of pro-democracy activists.
- JULY 26, 2022JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN EXECUTES PRISONER WHO KILLED 7 IN TOKYO STREET RAMPAGE
Japan on 26 July 2022 executed a man who killed seven people in a vehicle crash and stabbing rampage in a crowded Tokyo shopping district in 2008.
DECEMBER 21, 2021JapanDEATH PENALTYJAPAN: THREE PRISONERS EXECUTED IN FIRST HANGINGS SINCE 2019
Japan hanged three prisoners on 21 December 2021, its first executions in two years, with the government saying it was necessary to maintain capital punishment in the face of continued "atrocious crimes".
- NOVEMBER 7, 2021JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN: DEATH ROW INMATES SUE OVER SAME-DAY EXECUTIONS
Two death row inmates in Japan are taking legal action against same-day executions.
- SEPTEMBER 23, 2021JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN: EX-COP'S DEATH PENALTY UPHELD OVER MURDER OF WIFE, CHILDREN
A high court denied on 15 September 2021 an appeal lodged by the defense of a former policeman who a lower court ruled should be put to death for the murder of his wife and 2 children at their southwestern Japan home in June 2017.