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
- APRIL 25, 2004JapanDEATH PENALTY
"I don't think that the government should use public...
"I don't think that the government should use public opinion as an excuse [to retain the death penalty],'' said Kyoko Otani, a Tokyo-based lawyer who had defended five death-row inmates
- APRIL 23, 2004JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Fukushima District Court, Japan, sentenced Kiyoshi...
The Fukushima District Court, Japan, sentenced Kiyoshi Ishii, a 63-year-old man, to death for setting a house on fire and killing a couple inside after quarreling with them on June 6, 2000
- APRIL 23, 2004JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Hiroshima High Court sentenced a 51-year-old Shozo...
The Hiroshima High Court sentenced a 51-year-old Shozo Nishiyama to death for committing murder and robbery in 1992 while on parole after receiving a life term for a 1973 murder
- APRIL 21, 2004JapanDEATH PENALTY
Japan voted against the resolution on the death penalty...
Japan voted against the resolution on the death penalty at the 60th UN Commission on Human Rights
- APRIL 19, 2004JapanDEATH PENALTY
Japan's Supreme Court upheld the death sentence imposed...
Japan's Supreme Court upheld the death sentence imposed on Wong Yeesun, a 35-year-old Malaysian national convicted of killing three people and injuring another during robberies in four prefectures in Japan in 1993
- APRIL 12, 2004JapanDEATH PENALTY
Masumi Hayashi, convicted of murdering four people...
Masumi Hayashi, convicted of murdering four people by poisoning curry at a 1998 community festival in Wakayama, Japan, would break her silence when her appeal was heard at the Osaka High Court from April 20, her lawyers said
- APRIL 12, 2004JapanDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty is provided for by the Criminal Procedure Law and by the Penal Code for a number of offences (13) but, in practice is applied only for murder.
The death penalty is provided for by the Criminal Procedure Law and by the Penal Code for a number of offences (13) but, in practice is applied only for murder.
- APRIL 7, 2004JapanDEATH PENALTY
Shizuka Kamei, former policy chief of Japan's ruling...
Shizuka Kamei, former policy chief of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), was re-elected chairman of a Diet group against the death penalty in the country and reiterated his desire to see it abolished
- MARCH 30, 2004JapanDEATH PENALTY
Tomoyuki Furusawa was sentenced to death by the Yokohama...
Tomoyuki Furusawa was sentenced to death by the Yokohama District Court, Japan, after being convicted of murder and illegal confinement
- MARCH 26, 2004JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Toyama District Court, Japan, sentenced Minoru...
The Toyama District Court, Japan, sentenced Minoru Ito to death for murdering a gang boss and his wife in Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture, in July 2000
- MARCH 26, 2004JapanDEATH PENALTY
Tomoaki Takanezawa and Mitsunori Onogawa were sentenced...
Tomoaki Takanezawa and Mitsunori Onogawa were sentenced to death at the Saitama District Court, Japan, for murdering two pachinko parlor workers
- MARCH 25, 2004JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Sendai District Court, Japan, sentenced 40-year-old...
The Sendai District Court, Japan, sentenced 40-year-old Shu Takahashi to death and four other people to life imprisonment for murder, robbery and other charges