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 12, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Tokyo District Court sentenced a 49-year-old fisherman...
The Tokyo District Court sentenced a 49-year-old fisherman to death on a charge of murdering two other fishermen and severely injuring a third aboard a fishing boat in Tokyo Bay in 2000
- MARCH 4, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Mito District Court sentenced a man to death for...
The Mito District Court sentenced a man to death for setting fire to a neighbour's house, killing one person and injuring three
- FEBRUARY 28, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Nagoya High Court upheld a lower court's death...
The Nagoya High Court upheld a lower court's death sentence for a man convicted of two separate murder-robbery cases in Shizuoka and Aichi prefectures in 1996 and 1997
- FEBRUARY 22, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Saitama District Court sentenced a 28-year-old...
The Saitama District Court sentenced a 28-year-old Chinese man, formerly a graduate student in Japan, to death for killing his girlfriend and her husband
- FEBRUARY 21, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
Yukunari Kawamura, 37, and his employee, Tetsuya Nomura,...
Yukunari Kawamura, 37, and his employee, Tetsuya Nomura, 32, were sentenced to death for the kidnap and murder of two women to settle a debt, judicial officials said
- JANUARY 28, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
Campaigners against the death penalty staged a rally...
Campaigners against the death penalty staged a rally in Tokyo, asking the government to open a public debate on capital punishment and reforming Japan's law on it
- JANUARY 25, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
MEP Emma Bonino said she encountered a wall of silence...
MEP Emma Bonino said she encountered a wall of silence in her efforts to discuss the death penalty with Japanese authorities
- JANUARY 23, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
Japan and South Korea reached a basic agreement on...
Japan and South Korea reached a basic agreement on a draft of an extradition treaty, Japanese and South Korean officials said
- JANUARY 21, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
The father of murder victim Mami Takahashi called the...
The father of murder victim Mami Takahashi called the death sentence given to Hiroshi Zota, 26, on January 19 satisfactory
- JANUARY 18, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
A 26-year-old former newspaper delivery man was sentenced...
A 26-year-old former newspaper delivery man was sentenced to death for a September 1999 random stabbing spree in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district that left two people dead and six injured
- JANUARY 17, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
Only 8
Only 8
- JANUARY 17, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
An inter-party group of lawmakers calling for the abolition...
An inter-party group of lawmakers calling for the abolition of the death penalty in Japan visited Justice Minister Mayumi Moriyama to protest the execution of two death-row inmates in late December 2001