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
- MAY 17, 2001JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Tokyo High Court sentenced Kaoru Okashita, 54,...
The Tokyo High Court sentenced Kaoru Okashita, 54, a former real estate broker, to death for murdering Ume Endo, 82, an apartment owner, in Tokyo on October 1, 1989, after swindling her out of land by forging a sales contract
- MAY 8, 2001JapanDEATH PENALTY
A 37-year-old gay Iranian man who has overstayed his...
A 37-year-old gay Iranian man who has overstayed his visa, is fighting to stay in Japan out of fear of a death sentence if sent back to his home country
- APRIL 25, 2001JapanDEATH PENALTY
Japan voted against the resolution on the death penalty...
Japan voted against the resolution on the death penalty approved by the UN Commission on Human Rights on April 25, 2001 (2001/68)
- APRIL 18, 2001JapanDEATH PENALTY
Masaharu Harada, 53, of Aichi Prefecture, the brother...
Masaharu Harada, 53, of Aichi Prefecture, the brother of a victim of convicted killer Toshihiko Hasegawa, 50, met with Justice Minister Masahiko Komura and asked that Hasegawa be taken off death row
- APRIL 17, 2001JapanDEATH PENALTY
Speaking at the UN Commission on Human Rights on item...
Speaking at the UN Commission on Human Rights on item 17, the promotion and protection of human rights, Masaru Watanabe said since the European Union was going to submit a draft resolution on the question of the death penalty, Japan wanted to state its po
- APRIL 5, 2001JapanDEATH PENALTY
A survivor of the March 1995 gas attack by the Aum...
A survivor of the March 1995 gas attack by the Aum Shinrikyo religious cult on the Tokyo subway system stated, testifying as a witness, that the cult's founder, Shoko Asahara, should face the death penalty for his crime
- MARCH 22, 2001JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Osaka District Court sentenced to death Hisashi...
The Osaka District Court sentenced to death Hisashi Eto, a 58-year-old former driver for murdering a man and his wife in 1997 and robbing cash from their home in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture
- MARCH 21, 2001JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Tokyo District Court sentenced Hiroki Fukawa, a...
The Tokyo District Court sentenced Hiroki Fukawa, a 35-year-old man to death for murdering and attempting to rob Shin Yamada, 91, and her daughter Hiro, 65, in their home in Edogawa Ward on April 19, 1999 to pay off his hostess girlfriend's club
- MARCH 21, 2001JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Urawa District Court sentenced to death Gen Sekine...
The Urawa District Court sentenced to death Gen Sekine a 59-year-old dog breeder for murdering four people in 1993 and Hiroko Kazama, 44, his former wife for participating in the murder of three of them
- MARCH 15, 2001JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Osaka High Court upheld a death sentence handed...
The Osaka High Court upheld a death sentence handed out by a lower court to Yoshinori Ueda, 46
- FEBRUARY 19, 2001JapanDEATH PENALTY
A delegation from the Council of Europe arrived in...
A delegation from the Council of Europe arrived in Japan to study capital punishment in the country
- FEBRUARY 12, 2001JapanDEATH PENALTY
The father of murdered British bar hostess Lucie Blackman,...
The father of murdered British bar hostess Lucie Blackman, whose dismembered remains were found on January 9 at the seaside town of Miura by Japanese police, was quoted as saying her killer should face the death penalty