JAPAN: 1,800 RALLY IN TOKYO AGAINST DEATH PENALTY

More than 1,800 people called for the abolition of the death penalty at a rally in Tokyo.
In the keynote speech, Yo Hemmi, an award-winning writer, said, ‘‘Are we able to tolerate binding the neck of a person with rope and hanging him or her? Are we able to pass on such a scene to our children?’‘
‘‘I’m going to continue seeking its abolition as I cannot tolerate it and it makes our hearts destructive,’’ said Hemmi, a former Kyodo News reporter. ‘‘I hope Dec 19, 2010, will become the starting point for the suspension of executions forever. I don’t want to see them anymore.’‘
The rally marked the 20th anniversary of the foundation of Forum 90, Japan’s major anti-death penalty group,
Osamu Kobayashi, a lawyer who heads a Japan Federation of Bar Associations panel working for the suspension of executions, told the rally, ‘‘Ordinary people have to face up to the death penalty now whether they like it or not, but the details of punishments, including capital punishment, have not been fully disclosed.’‘
‘‘I will work to build a consensus in the JFBA so that we aim to achieve a society that does not need the death penalty,’’ he said.