Japanese Moratorium on the Death Penalty

Japanese Moratorium on the Death Penalty

Mika Obara-Minnitt Japanese Moratorium on the Death Penalty

Mika Obara-Minnitt International Christian University The Institute of Asian Cultural Studies Tokyo, Japan ISBN 978-1-137-56530-3 ISBN 978-1-137-55822-0 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-55822-0 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016951226 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Nature America Inc. The registered company address is: 1 New York Plaza, New York, NY 10004, U.S.A.

PREF ACE On 4 October 2015, it was reported that Okunishi Masaru had passed away in a medical prison. Okunishi, aged 89, was then the longest- serving inmate in a Japanese prison, having been detained for 43 years since his death penalty was announced in 1972. He had been on death row on a charge of wine poisoning in Mie prefecture on 28 March 1961. He consistently stated that he was forced to make his confession, and it was during his ninth retrial petition that he died. There are still unsolved cases in the process of pleading for retrials, some going back decades. By investigating the institutional and cultural dynamic behind such cases, this book seeks to illuminate the elite-driven nature of the death penalty policy in Japan, where miscarriages of justice can occur. I hope that this volume will help readers better understand why and how Japan retains capital punishment against the international trend, and inspire some of them to conduct further research on this issue or to join the abolitionist movement. Mika Obara-Minnitt Bletchley, England April 2016 v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This book is the result of research that started in 2008 as a post-doctoral project at Loughborough University. My gratitude goes first and foremost to my supervisors, Dr Taku Tamaki and Dr Robert Dover. My PhD thesis could not have been completed without their critical insights and encouragement. I will be eternally grateful to them for inspiring me to pursue further academic research. I am also thankful to David T. Johnson who inspired me to discover my life s work, to my editors at Palgrave Macmillan USA for their interest and support, and to anonymous reviewers who helped me improve the earlier draft of the manuscript. I am also indebted to all the 25 anonymous interviewees in Japan who gave me a tremendous amount of valuable first-hand information, despite the sensitive issue of capital punishment. NGO workers, attorneys, academics and others expressed their own views freely, and emotionally at times. Their passion appeared to result from very personal experiences, such as their religious views or the media coverage of capital punishment, including miscarriage of justice cases or serious murder cases. Most of their remarks were independent of the public opinion that can be observed in media reports. Discovering this was very beneficial since it is evidence for my hypothesis that it is the Japanese government that supports capital punishment, and that public opinion can vary greatly, depending on how people are asked questions on the issue and how much they understand of the system. In particular, despite the nature of my research into events, some of which took place approximately 20 years ago, witnesses to or participants in those events were very co-operative during interviews: they included a vii

viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS former death row inmate, a former Minister of Justice and senior members of human rights NGOs. With regard to the former death row inmate, Menda Sakae, 1 his first-hand information on life in detention, including his dialogues with prison guards, helped illuminate the elite-driven nature of the capital punishment system. Postal correspondence with Sato Megumu, who was one of the Ministers of Justice during the de facto moratorium period between 1989 and 1993, provided an excellent opportunity to contrast his official statement on capital punishment, which can be found in parliamentary proceedings, with what he can currently say freely in his own words. Those who were not necessarily witnesses to or participants in the de facto moratorium, but have been engaged in current anti-death- penalty activities, or are keenly involved in the issue of capital punishment in general, were also interviewed. They include a representative of a victims group; senior writers at newspaper agencies; a senior staff member at the Delegation of the European Union to Japan; and academics in law, sociology and EU Japan studies. I believe that my interviews in Japan helped me test the considerable amount of secondary source analysis I have completed and added tremendous value to my research. I owe a particularly strong debt to the Minnitt family. My wonderful husband, Sam Minnitt, supported me throughout this journey from the completion of my PhD project to the book manuscript. Special thanks also go to Diz Minnitt, who read the whole manuscript multiple times, and Helen Minnitt, who provided me with so much support and encouragement. Last, but not least, I would like to thank my beautiful mother, Reiko Obara, for her everlasting love and support. This book is dedicated to her. NOTE 1. Although it was difficult to approach Menda for interviews initially, the contact was achieved through the help of senior NGO staff: Shimaya Naoko, a core member of Forum 90; Tagusari Maiko, the Secretary General at the Center for Prisoners Rights; and Yamazaki Hiroyuki, a representative of Tanpopo no Kai, a local anti-deathpenalty NGO in Fukuoka Prefecture. In particular, Shimaya has currently been acting on behalf of Menda, and postal and email correspondence with Menda was achieved through her help.

CONTENTS 1 Introduction 1 2 The Two-Sided Triangle: Capital Punishment Policy Decision-Making A Framework for Analysis 11 3 Governmental Justification for Capital Punishment and the De Facto Moratorium Periods Reconsidered 79 4 An Honourable Death? Governmental Justification for Capital Punishment 1980 1989 135 5 Conscience or Chaos?: Governmental Justification for Capital Punishment During the De Facto Moratorium Period 1989 1993 163 6 By Popular Demand: Governmental Justification for Capital Punishment 1993 2009 177 7 Democracy Inaction: Governmental Justification for Capital Punishment During the De Facto Moratorium Periods (2009 2010 and 2010 2012) 201 ix

x CONTENTS 8 Conclusions: New Light in Old Rooms. Governmental Justification for Capital Punishment in Japan Reconsidered 221 Appendices 233 Bibliography 243 Index 263

LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 7.1 Opinion Poll on Lay Assessors by the Supreme Court 203 Fig. 7.2 Numbers Sentenced to Death and Life Imprisonment in the First Court 204 xi

LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 Three Types of Ministers of Justice 37 xiii