JAPAN. LAWYERS CALL FOR SUSPENSION OF EXECUTIONS

in a letter submitted to Justice Minister Seiken Sugiura, the Japan Federation of Bar Associations said executions should be suspended given the possibility that rulings could be mistaken, as had occurred in past cases where the death penalty had initially been handed down.
The call came ahead of the end of the current parliament session on June 17. The group said that the government had carried out executions in the past while parliament was not in session to avoid debate about the issue.
"We call for temporary legislation to halt executions until there is thorough national debate about whether to keep the death penalty and there is improvement to the system," the group said.