Japan
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
Data card
- Legal status
- Retentionist
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 0
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 1
- First news item in the archive
- JANUARY 1, 1999 · The death penalty is provided for by the Criminal Procedure...
- News items in the archive
- 739
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
Japan is classified as Retentionist in the Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026. In 2026 the association recorded 0 executions in the country, against 1 the year before. The archive holds 739 news items on Japan, from 1999 to today.
Latest news
- 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
- JUNE 6, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
Shozo Nishiyama, 49, a man in Hiroshima convicted of...
Shozo Nishiyama, 49, a man in Hiroshima convicted of one count of robbery-murder and facing another, said through his lawyer that he wants a legal revision so he can donate his bone marrow and organs while he is in detention and after his death
- JUNE 5, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
Prosecutors at the Wakayama District Court demanded...
Prosecutors at the Wakayama District Court demanded the death penalty for Masumi Hayashi, accused of the July 1998 Wakayama curry poisoning that killed four people and sickened 63 others
- JUNE 3, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
A group of lawmakers seeking to abolish the death penalty...
A group of lawmakers seeking to abolish the death penalty started discussions on a new set of rules for imprisonment that would eliminate parole for prisoners serving life sentences
- JUNE 3, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
In Japan a creche operator accused of brutally beating...
In Japan a creche operator accused of brutally beating two children to death and injuring four others was handed a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment
- MAY 29, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
In Japan a House of Councillors plenary session unanimously...
In Japan a House of Councillors plenary session unanimously approved an extradition treaty between Japan and South Korea to take effect during the month-long World Cup soccer finals starting on May 31
- MAY 28, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Conference sponsored by the Council of Europe on...
The Conference sponsored by the Council of Europe on "Justice and the Rights of Man in the observer countries of the CoE: the abolition of the death penalty", just come to an end in Tokyo, was attended by the Minister of Justice, Mrs
- MAY 10, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
A Japanese court sentenced a faith healer to death...
A Japanese court sentenced a faith healer to death for killing six of her followers in 1994 and 1995
- APRIL 25, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
Japan voted against the resolution 2002/77 on the death...
Japan voted against the resolution 2002/77 on the death penalty at the 58th UN Commission on Human Rights
- APRIL 24, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
Accused poison curry killer Masumi Hayashi should be...
Accused poison curry killer Masumi Hayashi should be sentenced to death for her crime, the father of a victim told a Japanese court
- APRIL 23, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
The visit by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi...
The visit by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to a Tokyo war shrine on April 21 sparked scattered protests around Asia, particularly in countries that suffered at the hands of Japan in World War II
- APRIL 10, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Supreme Court in Japan rejected the sixth appeal...
The Supreme Court in Japan rejected the sixth appeal for the retrial of a death-row inmate who was found guilty of murdering five people with poisoned wine in Nabari, Mie Prefecture, in 1961
- APRIL 9, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
A thief who denied allegations of murdering a jewellery...
A thief who denied allegations of murdering a jewellery shop manager and five female employees to cover up his gem heist was sentenced to death
- APRIL 8, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
Japan and South Korea signed a criminal extradition...
Japan and South Korea signed a criminal extradition treaty that they plan to enforce ahead of the soccer World Cup finals, to be jointly hosted by the two countries from May 31 to June 30
- APRIL 4, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
A Japanese legislator displayed in parliament a picture...
A Japanese legislator displayed in parliament a picture of an inmate who was executed by hanging in 2001 to illustrate the cruelty of the death penalty
- MARCH 18, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
A court in Japan sentenced Kazuyuki Oikawa, 24, to...
A court in Japan sentenced Kazuyuki Oikawa, 24, to death for killing two children and injuring another in a burglary
- MARCH 12, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Tokyo District Court sentenced a 49-year-old fisherman...
The Tokyo District Court sentenced a 49-year-old fisherman to death on a charge of murdering two other fishermen and severely injuring a third aboard a fishing boat in Tokyo Bay in 2000
- MARCH 4, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Mito District Court sentenced a man to death for...
The Mito District Court sentenced a man to death for setting fire to a neighbour's house, killing one person and injuring three
- FEBRUARY 28, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Nagoya High Court upheld a lower court's death...
The Nagoya High Court upheld a lower court's death sentence for a man convicted of two separate murder-robbery cases in Shizuoka and Aichi prefectures in 1996 and 1997
- FEBRUARY 22, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
The Saitama District Court sentenced a 28-year-old...
The Saitama District Court sentenced a 28-year-old Chinese man, formerly a graduate student in Japan, to death for killing his girlfriend and her husband
- FEBRUARY 21, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
Yukunari Kawamura, 37, and his employee, Tetsuya Nomura,...
Yukunari Kawamura, 37, and his employee, Tetsuya Nomura, 32, were sentenced to death for the kidnap and murder of two women to settle a debt, judicial officials said
- JANUARY 28, 2002JapanDEATH PENALTY
Campaigners against the death penalty staged a rally...
Campaigners against the death penalty staged a rally in Tokyo, asking the government to open a public debate on capital punishment and reforming Japan's law on it