CAMPAIGNERS URGE JAPAN TO ABOLISH DEATH PENALTY

Campaigners opposed to the death penalty urged the Japanese government to abolish or at least suspend executions prior to the expected approval of a UN resolution later this week on a global moratorium on capital punishment. "It is now internationally requested to introduce a moratorium on the death penalty, with a view to abolishing it in the future," Tokyo-based lawyer Maiko Tagusari said at a press conference. "How Japan deals with the issue of capital punishment will show the level of Japan's human rights protection," she said.