Japan 2005
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
News on Japan in 2005
- DECEMBER 29, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. NO. OF DEATH ROW INMATES HITS 78, SIGN OF TOUGHENING PENALTIES
it was reported that the number of inmates in Japan whose death sentences had been finalized stood at 78, the largest in 37 years.
- DECEMBER 22, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR TWO MURDERS
the Mito District Court, Japan, sentenced a 44-year-old man to death for killing and robbing two elderly female acquaintances in Ibaraki Prefecture in January 2005.
- DECEMBER 15, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. DOG TRAINER HANDED DEATH PENALTY FOR KILLING 5 PEOPLE WITH MUSCLE RELAXANTS
Yoshinori Ueda, a man convicted of killing five people in 1992 and 1993 using muscle relaxants, was set to be executed after Japan’s Supreme Court rejected his appeal. Ueda, 51, had been sentenced to death after being convicted of murder and abandoning th
- DECEMBER 6, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. LAWMAKERS PROPOSE ALTERNATIVE TO DEATH PENALTY
Japanese lawmakers opposed to the death penalty said they would propose mandatory life in prison for capital cases in a bid to dent overwhelming public support for capital punishment.
- DECEMBER 2, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
EUROPEAN UNION. JAPAN TO ABOLISH DEATH PENALTY
the European Union renewed its call on Japan to abolish the death penalty.
- DECEMBER 1, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. HIGH COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE FOR 60-YR-OLD MAN FOR MURDER
the Sapporo High Court, Japan, upheld a lower court ruling that sentenced a 60-year-old man to death for killing a couple in Hokkaido in 1988.
- NOVEMBER 23, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. DEATH SENTENCE UPHELD FOR 'EXORCIST' WHO KILLED SIX
the Sendai High Court, Japan, upheld a death sentence against a woman calling herself an exorcist for killing six of her followers by repeatedly beating them on the pretext of exorcising evil spirits.
- NOVEMBER 12, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. EX-GANGSTER GETS DEATH FOR FATALLY SHOOTING 2 AT CHIBA RESTAURANT
the Chiba District Court, Japan, sentenced former gangster Yoshihide Miyagi to death for fatally shooting two men at a restaurant in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture.
- NOVEMBER 11, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. DOOMSDAY GURU UNFIT FOR DEATH PENALTY: LAWYERS
lawyers for Shoko Asahara, the founder of the doomsday cult which carried out the deadly 1995 gas attack on the Tokyo subway, said they will submit a new medical report to prove he is mentally unfit for execution.
- NOVEMBER 2, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. KOIZUMI CAUTIONS SUGIURA OVER REMARKS ON DEATH PENALTY
Japan’s Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi urged new Justice Minister Seiken Sugiura to be cautious when expressing a personal view on controversial issues, a warning against his remarks the previous day in which he said he would not sign any orders for exe
- NOVEMBER 1, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. JUSTICE MINISTER IN DEATH PENALTY RETREAT
Seiken Sugiura, Japan's new justice minister, was forced into an embarrassing retreat, less than 24 hours after he said he would refuse to sign execution orders because he opposes the death penalty.
- OCTOBER 29, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. COURT OVERTURNS DEATH SENTENCE FOR INSURANCE MONEY MURDER
the Sendai High Court, Japan, sentenced Toshio Hosoya to life in prison for killing his wife and her mother to obtain insurance money, overturning a lower court's death sentence on the grounds that the crime had not been a carefully worked out plan.
- OCTOBER 24, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty is provided for by the Criminal Procedure Law and by the Penal Code for a number of offences (13) but, in practice is applied only for murder.
The death penalty is provided for by the Criminal Procedure Law and by the Penal Code for a number of offences (13) but, in practice is applied only for murder.
- OCTOBER 17, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. TOP COURT UPHOLDS DEATH FOR MURDER OF 2
the Supreme Court of Japan upheld a lower court's death sentence on Shinji Mutsuda, a 35-year-old man, for murdering two people in a robbery case in 1995.
- OCTOBER 15, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. TRIO CONVICTED OF MURDERING FOUR SENT TO GALLOWS
the Nagoya High Court sentenced three men to death for murdering four people in 1994, crimes that occurred when the defendants were still minors.
- SEPTEMBER 30, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. COURT HEARING ON "SECRET EXECUTIONS" OPENS
a court hearing opened on a lawsuit filed by Tomoyoshi Emura, a lawyer who was seeking disclosure of the layout of the execution chamber at the Osaka detention centre in a bid to break the secrecy surrounding executions in Japan.
- SEPTEMBER 28, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. COUPLE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR SERIAL KILLINGS
a Japanese couple, Futoshi Matsunaga, 44, and his common-law wife Junko Ogata, 43, were sentenced to death at the district court in Fukuoka on the southern island of Kyushu for killing seven people, including six of their relatives, dismembering their bod
- SEPTEMBER 15, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. INMATE FIRST OF YEAR TO BE HANGED
a man convicted of robbing, raping and killing two women in the 1980s was executed, Japan's first hanging of the year.
- SEPTEMBER 9, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. YAKUZA HITMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR GANGLAND MURDERS
Kaiichi Yamamoto, a gang boss who gunned down five rivals in a Saitama Prefecture city was sentenced to death by the Saitama District Court, Japan. Yamamoto, 58, the gang boss, was convicted on five counts of murder and for firearms violations following t
- SEPTEMBER 9, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. MAN TO FACE GALLOWS FOR MURDERING FRIEND'S SONS
the Utsunomiya District Court, Japan, sentenced Akihiro Shimoyama, a 40-year-old man, to death for murdering two boys in Oyama, Tochigi Prefecture, in 2004.
- SEPTEMBER 9, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. MAN TO FACE GALLOWS FOR MURDERING FRIEND'S SONS
the Utsunomiya District Court, Japan, sentenced Akihiro Shimoyama, a 40-year-old man, to death for murdering two boys in Oyama, Tochigi Prefecture, in 2004.
- SEPTEMBER 1, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. HIGH COURT REDUCES MAN'S DEATH SENTENCE TO LIFE IN PRISON
the Sendai High Court, Japan, reduced from a death sentence to life in prison the punishment for Kiyoshi Ishii, a man convicted of killing a couple by torching their house in Fukushima Prefecture in 2000, denying he intended to kill.
- AUGUST 31, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. LAWYERS FOR DOOMSDAY CULT LEADER ON DEATH ROW FAIL TO SUBMIT APPEAL
lawyers for Shoko Asahara, the founder of a doomsday cult which carried out the deadly 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, failed to submit a letter appealing against his death penalty by the August 31.
- AUGUST 3, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. JFBA DELEGATION TO EUROPE TO STUDY IMPACT OF DEATH PENALTY ABOLITION
the Japan Federation of Bar Associations said it would send a delegation to Germany and Britain later in the month to study how abolition of capital punishment had affected the two countries.
- JULY 19, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
HIGH COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE FOR MAN CONVICTED OF MURDERS
the Tokyo High Court upheld a lower court ruling, which sentenced Toshiaki Kaga, a 44-year-old man, to death for murdering a woman and her daughter and stealing their money.
- JULY 11, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
HIGH COURT UPHOLDS DEATH FOR DOG BREEDER FOR KILLING 4 PEOPLE
the Tokyo High Court upheld a March 2001 ruling by the Urawa District Court sentencing to death Gen Sekine, 63, and his former wife Hiroko Kazama, 48, for murdering four people in 1993 following disputes over the sale of dogs.
- JULY 8, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
APPEAL BY FIVE-TIME KILLER AGAINST DEATH SENTENCE REJECTED
Japan’s Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Yasutoshi Kamata, a 64-year-old man, against the death sentence for murdering a 9-year-old girl and four women between 1985 and 1994.
- JULY 5, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
SUPPORTERS PETITION FOR RETRIAL OF BOXER 25 YEARS ON DEATH ROW
supporters of Iwao Hakamada, a former professional boxer who had been on death row for 25 years handed the Japanese Supreme Court a petition with 2,880 signatures demanding a retrial.
- JUNE 28, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. HIROSHIMA HIGH COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE FOR MAN CONVICTED OF KILLING SPREE
the Hiroshima High Court, Japan, upheld a lower court death sentence handed to Yasuaki Uwabe for killing five people and injuring 10 others when he went on a berserk rampage at JR Shimonoseki Station in 1999.
- JUNE 28, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTY
JAPAN. HIGH COURT UPHOLDS SENTENCE FOR HOUSEWIFE IN CURRY MURDERS
the Osaka High Court in western Japan upheld a death sentence against Masumi Hayashi, a 43-year-old housewife, for murdering four people and poisoning 63 others with arsenic-laced curry served at a summer festival.