Death Penalty Remains, but Trial System Must Improve

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The Cabinet Office has released the results of a public opinion survey on the death penalty. Of the respondents, 83.1% said that having the death penalty is "unavoidable," while 16.5% said that it should be abolished.

The Cabinet Office cautioned that simple comparisons cannot be made because the survey method has changed from in-person interviews to questionnaires sent by mail. Nonetheless, the new survey showed that support for the death penalty increased by 2.3% since the previous opinion poll in 2020.

Public opinion polling concerning the death penalty began in 1956. However, the trend of those in favor of keeping the death penalty has consistently far exceeded those calling for its abolition.

How the Survey Works

The survey has been conducted every five years since 1989, and this was the fifth consecutive time that more than 80% of respondents have expressed approval for capital punishment. It is fair to say that public support for the death penalty remains rock solid.

Multiple answers were allowed to questions. Nevertheless, the most common reason given for approving the death penalty was, "Abolishing the death penalty would not accord with the feelings of the victims and their families" (62.2%).

That was followed by "someone who commits a heinous crime should pay for it with his life" (55.5%) and "abolishing it would lead to an increase in heinous crimes" (53.4%).

When asked whether they would favor abolishing the death penalty if there was the option of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, only 37.5% said it should be abolished, while 61.8% said it would be better not to abolish it.

Flaws in the Death Penalty System

Proponents of abolition, such as the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, claim that "the abolition of the death penalty is the trend in the international community." They often add that "the system has multiple fatal problems."

How a person regards punishment for crimes is deeply related to that person's views on morality, life and death, religion, and the nation. The Japanese people cannot be expected to always be in lockstep with what people in other countries are doing.

Nevertheless, the number of people who said "it should be abolished" increased by 7.5%, while neutral responses about the death penalty dropped from the previous poll. This change might reflect the reaction to the acquittal on retrial of Iwao Hakamada, who had spent decades on death row after being convicted in 1968 for the murder of a family of four in Shizuoka Prefecture.

The Hakamada case has brought to light flaws in the current retrial system, such as how the prosecution discloses evidence. This is important as the death penalty is the ultimate punishment for a crime. Although the death penalty option should continue to exist, strict standards of criminal justice should apply. That requires improving the weak provisions regarding the reexamination of old cases.

Abhorrence of Serious Crimes

There are serious crimes in this world that can only be addressed and deterred with severe punishment. One example is the Tokyo subway sarin gas attack of March 1995 that killed 13 people and severely injured 50. Another is the serial murder of eight women and one man in Zama City, Kanagawa Prefecture in 2017. Then, in 2019, 36 people were killed and another 34 injured in the Kyoto Animation arson and murder case.

*Shoko Asahara, the leader of the Aum Cult responsible for the 1995 Tokyo Metro sarin gas attacks was executed in Tokyo on July 6, 2018*

Japan is a country governed by law and its criminal justice system includes the death penalty. Even in lay judge trials, the death penalty has been handed down in cases that deserve the most severe form of punishment. Maintaining the death penalty also demonstrates the strong determination of the nation of Japan, its society, and its people not to tolerate inhuman crimes.