Japan must abolish the death penalty in order to eliminate...

Japan must abolish the death penalty in order to eliminate the possibility of people mistakenly being put to death on false charges, senior Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmaker Shizuka Kamei said.
"Under the current judicial system, where judges have strong faith in public authorities, a person could be falsely convicted of crimes," Kamei, 64, said.
A former policy chief of the LDP, Kamei on November 2 will assume the chairmanship of a multiparty group of 75 lawmakers promoting the abolishment of capital punishment.
Kamei - who had held senior posts in the Saitama prefectural police and the National Police Agency before being elected to the House of Representatives in 1979 - said suspects often suffer nervous breakdown during detention, and do not necessarily speak the truth during questioning.
"I have thought the death penalty should be abolished since I was working for the police.
Some people say suspects should be killed to compensate for their crimes. But victims' longing for retaliation will be endless," Kamei said, adding the death penalty "is not a solution."
He also challenged opinion poll results showing that more Japanese are in favour of the death penalty. The polls "do not necessarily show how society should be," he said.