In its annual report on the global human rights situation...

In its annual report on the global human rights situation for 2002, Amnesty International said the treatment of those on death row in Japan was brutal, inhumane and degrading. The report also accused the government of timing hangings to minimise publicity and keeping the condemned in isolation for years without any rights. It was revealed that the oldest Japanese death-row prisoner was 80 years old and had spent 30 years in jail. "Because they are technically 'awaiting' execution, they do not have the same legal status as other prisoners and therefore do not have the rights that other prisoners enjoy in areas such as visitation, correspondence and exercise," the group said. Amnesty said that the treatment of death row inmates in Japan largely depended on the attitude of detention centre directors. While some detention centres treated death row prisoners in a similar way to other inmates, elsewhere there were examples of very harsh treatment. "Some prisoners sentenced to death have been held in almost complete solitude for years," it said. "Prisoners are told less than two hours before execution that they are going to be executed. Families and lawyers are never told in advance of the decision to carry out the execution. The practice of not informing prisoners until the last hour of their execution deprives them of the opportunity to meet with family for final farewells and makes it impossible for lawyers to file last-minute appeals." It specifically criticised the government for going ahead with the execution of two inmates in September 2002. "Yoshiteru Hamada and Tatsuya Haruta, both convicted of murder, were executed on September 18," the report said. "Their families had not been advised of the execution date. "It appears that the date of the two executions was chosen to coincide with Prime Minister's historic visit to North Korea. "Media attention in Japan had been focused on this meeting, helping to avoid public criticism of the executions. The Japanese Diet was in recess at the time; this is when executions are often carried out."