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
- SEPTEMBER 17, 2001JapanDEATH PENALTY
The families of those killed in June knife killings...
The families of those killed in June knife killings at Ikeda Elementary School in Osaka Prefecture presented prosecutors with a petition of about 620,000 names calling for defendant Mamoru Takuma to be executed, the families said
- SEPTEMBER 11, 2001JapanDEATH PENALTY
An appeal against the death sentence handed down to...
An appeal against the death sentence handed down to one of the Tokyo twins who brutally killed two men to take over their successful S&M club business in 1995 was rejected by the Tokyo High Court
- JULY 30, 2001JapanDEATH PENALTY
It is estimated that there are about 50 death-row inmates...
It is estimated that there are about 50 death-row inmates in Japan
- JULY 9, 2001JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Nagoya District Court sentenced one of three defendants...
The Nagoya District Court sentenced one of three defendants to death for killing four men over a period of eleven days in 1994 in the Gifu, Aichi and Osaka prefectures
- JUNE 28, 2001JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Tokyo High Court upheld a 1997 lower court ruling...
The Tokyo High Court upheld a 1997 lower court ruling that sentenced Tsutomu Miyazaki, a former printing shop assistant, to death for the murder of four girls in 1988-1989 in Tokyo and the neighboring Saitama Prefecture
- JUNE 25, 2001JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Council of Europe endorsed an in-house report calling...
The Council of Europe endorsed an in-house report calling for the abolition of the death penalty in Japan and the United States, putting at risk their observer status in the 43-member organization dedicated to the promotion of democracy and human rights
- JUNE 21, 2001JapanDEATH PENALTY
Sakae Menda, 76, a former Japanese death row inmate...
Sakae Menda, 76, a former Japanese death row inmate who had spent 32 years on death row for a crime he did not commit, appealed to do away with capital punishment worldwide at the opening of the first world congress against the death penalty in Strasbourg
- JUNE 20, 2001JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Miyazaki District Court sentenced a 44-year-old...
The Miyazaki District Court sentenced a 44-year-old woman to death for murdering and robbing two women in Miyazaki Prefecture in 1996 and 1997 and abandoning their bodies
- JUNE 14, 2001JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Nagoya High Court sentenced two men to death for...
The Nagoya High Court sentenced two men to death for double murder and robbery in 1994 and 1995
- JUNE 8, 2001JapanDEATH PENALTY
A 37-year-old man stabbed eight children to death with...
A 37-year-old man stabbed eight children to death with a kitchen knife and injured 15 other people, including two teachers, at an elementary school in Ikeda in the Osaka Prefecture
- JUNE 4, 2001JapanDEATH PENALTY
Six Diet members from various political parties opposing...
Six Diet members from various political parties opposing capital punishment met with Justice Minister Mayumi Moriyama to request that she make efforts to have the death penalty abolished and allow them to tour execution sites, Justice Ministry officials s
- JUNE 1, 2001JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Tokyo High Court upheld a lower court ruling condemning...
The Tokyo High Court upheld a lower court ruling condemning Shinichi Shimoyama to death for his 1993 crime orgy in which he killed and robbed three people across Japan