Japan 2002
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
News on Japan in 2002
- DECEMBER 20, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
A bipartisan group of Japanese lawmakers opposed to...
A bipartisan group of Japanese lawmakers opposed to capital punishment asked Justice Minister Mayumi Moriyama to impose a moratorium on capital punishment for the duration of the Diet recess, the lawmakers said
- DECEMBER 18, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
Kunihiko Hamakawa, 42, was sentenced to death by the...
Kunihiko Hamakawa, 42, was sentenced to death by the Tsu District Court for murdering two men and stealing approximately 12 million yen in Mie Prefecture in 1994
- DECEMBER 11, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
Japanese mass murderer Masumi Hayashi, who shocked...
Japanese mass murderer Masumi Hayashi, who shocked the nation when she killed four people and sickened 63 by poisoning curry served at a local festival in 1998, must be hanged, a court in Wakayama ruled
- DECEMBER 2, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
Kyodo News published an interview with Masaharu Harada,...
Kyodo News published an interview with Masaharu Harada, the brother of a murder victim, whose killer Toshihiko Hasegawa had been sentenced to death and executed on December 27, 2001
- NOVEMBER 22, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
Lawmakers opposed to Japan's use of the death penalty...
Lawmakers opposed to Japan's use of the death penalty revealed that they would submit to next year's Diet a bill to set up an ad hoc commission to debate whether it should be abolished
- NOVEMBER 22, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
It was revealed by group officials that the Japan Federation...
It was revealed by group officials that the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, Japan's largest bar organization, had intentions of proposing a legal moratorium on executions, the first time it has explicitly adopted a position against the death penalty
- NOVEMBER 21, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
Lawmakers opposed to Japan's use of capital punishment...
Lawmakers opposed to Japan's use of capital punishment plan to submit to the 2003 Diet a bill to set up an ad hoc death penalty commission to encourage public discussions on whether or not it should be abolished, the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper reported
- OCTOBER 31, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
An elderly man will remain on death row after the Tokyo...
An elderly man will remain on death row after the Tokyo High dismissed his appeal, ruling that a confession he gave to a 1988 double murder was unreliable but his guilt could be proved from other evidence
- OCTOBER 28, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
A former construction worker, who murdered a woman...
A former construction worker, who murdered a woman during a probation period after being released from jail on parole, has rescinded his appeal against a death sentence for his second crime
- OCTOBER 22, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
Mr Patten answered on behalf of the Commission a parliamentary...
Mr Patten answered on behalf of the Commission a parliamentary question written on the execution of Mr Yoshiteru Hamada and Mr Tatsuya Haruta
- OCTOBER 11, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
A former senior member of the Japanese doomsday cult...
A former senior member of the Japanese doomsday cult which carried out a nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995 was sentenced to death
- OCTOBER 10, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
The parents of two children Ayano Moriwaki and Maki...
The parents of two children Ayano Moriwaki and Maki Sakai, both 7 years old when they died, killed in a knife attack at their school last summer spoke publicly of their anguish for the first time and demanded the death sentence for Mamoru Takuma, who is b
- OCTOBER 2, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
A loan shark who was charged with using his mistresses...
A loan shark who was charged with using his mistresses to murder two men and sicken another to collect hefty life insurance payouts was sentenced to death
- OCTOBER 1, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
Shigeru Yagi, a moneylender who flaunted his wealth...
Shigeru Yagi, a moneylender who flaunted his wealth on TV and ridiculed police, was sentenced to death for murdering two acquaintances and seriously injuring another with poison and overdoses of cold medicine
- SEPTEMBER 30, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
A murder convict who strangled a bar worker after a...
A murder convict who strangled a bar worker after a quarrel then chopped her body up was handed the death sentence in a ruling that overturned a lower court decision
- SEPTEMBER 30, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
Kenji Yokota, 53, was sentenced to death by the Tokyo...
Kenji Yokota, 53, was sentenced to death by the Tokyo High Court for strangling a female acquaintance in 1999
- SEPTEMBER 20, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
A man who went on a berserk rampage at JR Shimonoseki...
A man who went on a berserk rampage at JR Shimonoseki Station in 1999, killing five innocent people and injuring 10 more will hang for his crimes, a court ruled
- SEPTEMBER 19, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
The President of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary...
The President of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly firmly condemned the capital executions of Yoshiteru and Tatsuya Tamoto in Japan
- SEPTEMBER 18, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
Japan executed two convicted criminals, the Justice...
Japan executed two convicted criminals, the Justice Ministry said
- AUGUST 8, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
The man charged with murdering eight students and injuring...
The man charged with murdering eight students and injuring 15 others at Ikeda Primary School in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, in 2001, said he would not appeal the decision of the Osaka District Court
- AUGUST 7, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
Olivier Dupuis, MEP (Lista Bonino) asked the European...
Olivier Dupuis, MEP (Lista Bonino) asked the European Commission on if it had been informed of the "serious risks" of Mori Katsuhisa being executed in the very near future
- AUGUST 7, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
Olivier Dupuis, MEP (Lista Bonino) asked the European...
Olivier Dupuis, MEP (Lista Bonino) asked the European Commission on if it had been informed of the "serious risks" of Mori Katsuhisa being executed in the very near future
- JULY 31, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
A group of Japanese lawmakers asked Justice Minister...
A group of Japanese lawmakers asked Justice Minister Mayumi Moriyama to clear the way for abolishing the death penalty
- JULY 22, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Supreme Court has dismissed prosecution of a 63-year-old...
The Supreme Court has dismissed prosecution of a 63-year-old man convicted of murdering two people and committing robberies in 1994 and 1995 because he died July 2, court officials
- JULY 4, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
An appeal court upheld a lower court ruling that sentenced...
An appeal court upheld a lower court ruling that sentenced a jobless man to death for murdering a couple, stealing more than 8 million yen worth of their valuables and setting fire to the victims' home in Tochigi Prefecture
- JUNE 26, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
Tomomitsu Niimi, the main henchman in Aum Shinrikyo's...
Tomomitsu Niimi, the main henchman in Aum Shinrikyo's killing spree during the mid-1990s, was sentenced to death for the murders of 26 individuals
- JUNE 21, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
In Japan, prison inmates will be given a rare privilege...
In Japan, prison inmates will be given a rare privilege to watch the World Cup [soccer - from May 31 to June 30] matches on television
- JUNE 13, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
The European Parliament approved a resolution calling...
The European Parliament approved a resolution calling on the parliaments of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan to intensify their efforts for a rapid abolition of the death penalty and for the introduction of a moratorium on executions
- JUNE 11, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
Japan's Supreme Court upheld death sentences for two...
Japan's Supreme Court upheld death sentences for two Chinese men found guilty of a 1992 triple murder and robbery at a pachinko parlor in Tama, western Tokyo
- JUNE 6, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
A bilateral treaty on extradition of suspects and criminal...
A bilateral treaty on extradition of suspects and criminal defendants between Japan and South Korea will take effect June 21 following an exchange of ratification documents by Tokyo and Seoul, the Foreign Ministry said