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
- MARCH 28, 2007JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR INTERNET MURDERS
a Japanese man was sentenced to death for murdering three people he lured through a suicide Web site by offering to die with them, a court official said.
- MARCH 23, 2007JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN COURT REJECTS DEATH ROW INMATE'S RETRIAL REQUEST
the Toyama District Court, Japan, dismissed a request for a retrial filed by a woman convicted of abducting and murdering two women in 1980 in Toyama and Nagano prefectures.
- MARCH 22, 2007JapanDEATH PENALTY
DEATH SENTENCE UPHELD, NO OF DEATH ROW INMATES REACHES 101
the Supreme Court upheld a high court decision to hang a 57 year old man for murdering and robbing a Nagoya bar owner in 2002.
- MARCH 22, 2007JapanDEATH PENALTY
SERIAL KILLER HANDED DEATH PENALTY
Tetsuo Odajima, 63, was sentenced to death for four killings at the Chiba District Court.
- MARCH 20, 2007JapanDEATH PENALTY
the Sapporo District Court in Japan rejected...
the Sapporo District Court in Japan rejected...
- MARCH 8, 2007ChinaDEATH PENALTY
HIGH COURT UPHOLDS DEATH PENALTY FOR CHINESE STUDENT
Fukuoka High Court, in Japan, upheld the death penalty for a former vocational...
- FEBRUARY 27, 2007JapanDEATH PENALTY
37 YEAR OLD FORMER CO-OP STAFFER SENTENCED TO DEATH
a 37-year-old former co-op staffer was sentenced to death in Japan for killing a colleague in 2004 and then killing his own wife in 2005.
- FEBRUARY 27, 2007JapanDEATH PENALTY
FORMER SENIOR GANGSTER, ELDEST SON SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDERING 4 PEOPLE
a former senior gangster and his eldest son were sentenced to death for murdering four people in Japan.
- FEBRUARY 20, 2007JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. NUMBER OF DEATH ROW INMATES HITS 100
the number of inmates slated for execution in Japan hit 100, with a fifth of the sentences coming in the last
- JANUARY 17, 2007ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINESE COURT SENTENCES 1 JAPANESE, 2 CHINESE TO DEATH IN DRUGS CASE
a Chinese court sentenced a Japanese man and his two Chinese accomplices to death for attempting to smuggle drugs from China to Japan...
- JANUARY 7, 2007JapanDEATH PENALTY
DEATH SENTENCES IN JAPAN IN 2006 HIT RECORD-HIGH 44
it was reported that forty-four death sentences were handed down by courts across Japan in 2006, a record high since 1980, when the Supreme Court began keeping records on such sentences.
- JANUARY 4, 2007JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. SPECIAL APPEAL FILED OVER MAN ON DEATH ROW FOR 1961 MURDER
defence counsel for Masaru Okunishi, sentenced to death for killing five people in 1961 in Nabari, Mie Prefecture, filed a special appeal with Japan’s Supreme Court in an effort to win back the chance of a retrial.