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
- DECEMBER 29, 2004JapanDEATH PENALTY
a record 42 defendants were sentenced to death in 2004 by courts in Japan
a record 42 defendants were sentenced to death in 2004 by courts in Japan
- DECEMBER 14, 2004JapanDEATH PENALTY
the Japanese Supreme Court upheld a death sentence for Nobuyuki Sawamoto
the Japanese Supreme Court upheld a death sentence for Nobuyuki Sawamoto
- DECEMBER 3, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
a court in Shanghai handed down a suspended death sentence
a court in Shanghai handed down a suspended death sentence
- NOVEMBER 20, 2004JapanDEATH PENALTY
the Supreme Court of Japan upheld lower court rulings sentencing Haruno Sakamoto
the Supreme Court of Japan upheld lower court rulings sentencing Haruno Sakamoto
- OCTOBER 29, 2004JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Tokyo High Court scrapped a lower court ruling...
The Tokyo High Court scrapped a lower court ruling that sentenced Masahito Sakamoto to life imprisonment for brutally murdering a girl then demanding ransom from her family, and ordered that he be executed for his crime
- OCTOBER 7, 2004JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Japan Federation of Bar Associations started its...
The Japan Federation of Bar Associations started its annual human rights meeting in Miyazaki, southwestern Japan, focusing mainly on the issue of capital punishment
- OCTOBER 7, 2004JapanDEATH PENALTY
There were no defined lines when it came to sentencing...
There were no defined lines when it came to sentencing a person to capital punishment or life imprisonment, and the decision was largely up to the judge to make, the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA) said, adding that it could not say for certai
- OCTOBER 1, 2004JapanDEATH PENALTY
In a book titled 'He Who Killed my Brother and Me'...
In a book titled 'He Who Killed my Brother and Me' Masaru Harada recalled how he was shocked and wanted revenge at the beginning when his brother was killed, but later on realised how the execution was not the solution
- SEPTEMBER 24, 2004JapanDEATH PENALTY
A Japanese court sentenced to death Yoshida, a 45-year-old...
A Japanese court sentenced to death Yoshida, a 45-year-old former nurse, for masterminding a plot with fellow nurses to murder their husbands for insurance money
- SEPTEMBER 22, 2004JapanDEATH PENALTY
Toshio Hosoya was sentenced to death at the Akita District...
Toshio Hosoya was sentenced to death at the Akita District Court in Japan for killing his wife and her mother to obtain insurance money
- SEPTEMBER 17, 2004JapanDEATH PENALTY
Justice Minister Daizo Nozawa said the ministry would...
Justice Minister Daizo Nozawa said the ministry would continue to maintain its policy of withholding the names of executed inmates, after it hanged two people on September 14
- SEPTEMBER 14, 2004JapanDEATH PENALTY
Japan hanged two men convicted of murder including...
Japan hanged two men convicted of murder including a former psychiatric patient who stabbed eight children to death in 2001 in the country's worst school massacre