Japanese criminal law envisages the death penalty for 13 different...

Japanese criminal law envisages the death penalty for 13 different crimes but in practice death sentences are only handed down for murder.
Japan keeps the utmost reserve on executions. Inmates can be held on death row for decades, and they are often not informed of their execution dates until the day of the hanging. Families and attorneys are usually informed after the execution. The executions, which typically take place in the summer and at year's end, are conducted when Parliament is in recess, to avoid parliamentary discussion.
Death row prisoners are isolated in narrow solitary cells monitored by TV cameras 24 hours a day. They are prohibited from talking to other prisoners. Their contact with the outside world is limited to infrequent, supervised visits from family or their lawyers. They are not allowed hobbies or television, and may own only three books, though more can be borrowed with the warden's permission as long as the content is not deemed to preach "subversion of authority." Exercise is limited to two short sessions a week outside their cells, four solid walls and one small window.
Death is by hanging, with prisoners, handcuffed and blindfolded, placed over a trapdoor that is sprung open without warning. In June 2006, a new law was enacted concerning the structure and treatment of detainees. It improved the conditions of visitation, correspondence, and the isolation conditions of those sentenced to death. The death penalty is popular in Japan.
The Criminal Procedure Law stipulates that the justice minister must sign an execution order within six months after the death sentence is passed by the court. If the death-row inmate appeals the sentence, applies for retrial or pardon, the six-month limit does not apply until the procedure is completed. However, legal experts have said that justice ministers generally try to avoid issuing execution orders until the last minute before the deadline, even if there is no application for appeal or pardon. For death-row inmates, the period just before the replacement of the justice minister is the most critical time as it is more likely that their execution orders could be issued.
Death sentences can be handed down to people aged 18 and older, but the Juvenile Law states that life imprisonment should be meted out when sentencing someone who was under 20 when the crime was committed. Since the end of the World War II, there have been eight exceptions made to this rule, where people who were under 20 at the time of their crimes have been sentenced to death. They include the August 1, 1995, hanging of Norio Nagayama, who was originally sentenced to life for murdering four people when he was 19. The Supreme Court in 1983 overturned that sentence and ruled he should be executed.
According to a report by the Japan Federation of Bar Associations published on January 18th 2007, Japanese courts increasingly sentenced people to death. In fact, from 1 condemnation to death in 2003, Japan has arrived at 19 death sentences in 2006. The number of inmates on death row has continued to mount as well.
In 2007, 9 people were executed in Japan, compared to 4 in 2006. The Minister of Justice reportedly ordered the executions because the total number of death row inmates had surpassed 100.
On December 18, 2007 Japan voted against the Resolution on a Moratorium on the Use of the Death Penalty at the UN General Assembly