Hanged killer still provoking human rights debate 22 years after execution

A 2014 opinion poll by the Cabinet Office showed only 9.7 percent believed the death penalty "should be abolished" while 80.3 percent said its existence "cannot be helped".

"Can not be helped"... right, I suppose benefit of the doubt should be given to the translators for this one!

People here dont typically talk about the death penalty, it's not an issue. It is kept out of the media, and it's one of those things that affects "others" and not them!

I sympathize with Nagayama for his unhappy childhood but being born dirt poor doesn’t mean you can kill people and get away with it. There are thousands of people with a similar background who are good citizens and living productive lives.

JenniSchiebelToday 10:45 am JSTWow. We have just read all about Nagayama's sob story.

But not a word about the lives, activities, or dreams of his victims.

My goodness, their names aren't even included here. This report doesn't even have the decency to tell us. They've been totally de-humanized in the name of advancing a viewpoint.

It's too bad they never got a chance to establish a "legacy" that this multiple murderer has left, one that is now being glorified by a biased media outlet.

There is a possible chance that a convicted murderer can reform him/herself but some do not.

The gangster who founded the Crips in 1972 was known for writing children's books and Snoop Dogg petitioned for a commutation. The Crips founder was executed regardless.

The shattering tragedy of Nagayama Norio's life should make us all reflect deeply about the fate of a child growing up in extreme poverty and subjected to sibling and parental abuse while victimized and ignored by a cold, uncaring society. Growing into puberty without knowing love from a positive adult role model and lacking the education that enables a person to establish a respected position in society must have been a terribly lonely and excruciating experience for a juvenile in Japan. Many children may be able to overcome their childhood traumas, but Nagayama was not one of them. Emotionally deprived he became a walking time-bomb with a brain incapable of self-control. Predictably, his anger and aggression towards others eventually exploded outwards taking the lives of four innocent people. Nagayama expressed remorse for his homicidal rampage, successfully rehabilitated himself in prison, unlocking the creativity that resides in every human by writing a moving testimony of his life. Despite turning his life around and accomplishing more than many who condemned him , his life was deemed worthless by unforgiving judges and politicians who cruelly dashed his hopes of doing some good for others and paying back to society for his heinous crimes. It is easy to judge, but when you do the arithmetic, what we all know, but to our shame cannot admit to ourselves, is that the same VIPs who are lauded for their "deeds", showered with honors and handsomely rewarded by society have been responsible for the deaths of tens or hundreds of thousands, or even millions. Nagayama Norio and his victims, RIP.

The death penalty does not deter criminals and only served to provide retribution.

I personally don't have any problem with executing some guilty people who have committed heinous crimes.

The problem I have is how we rectify the situation where innocents are wrongly executed, with new evidence coming into play after they are dead.

Until we can figure how to bring those people back to life, I can't agree with the death penalty; if there is a death penalty, innocents will sometimes be executed.

jailed in 1969, but execution in 1990. He wasn't a minor when he was executed then.

There are only three things you need to know about the death penalty. 1) mistakes are going to happen. So unless the situation is desperate, like stranded on an island with no secure prisons, then the state will murder people unfairly.... and get away with it. 2) When the state kills it sends a message that killing is sometimes justified even when the situation is not desperate, such as it would be in a self-defense case. So following the government lead, killers will similarly justify their own reasons for killing. And the government lead on killing is greatly enhanced with unfair executions. 3) There is no reason to believe executions deter crime or killing. No sane or stable person was ever deterred by the death penalty because what they really fear is losing their friends, family and jobs if they get caught. Few insane or unstable people were deterred by the death penalty because they just don't care or they actually want to be killed. Whatever number of times it worked as a deterrent, it worked as an impetus a like number of times. All told, support for the death penalty runs the gamut from lazy thinking to outright trollish griefing.

" Introducing a punishment "that does not allow convicts to look toward the future" makes no sense, he said. " Certainly a concept the must bring comfort to survivors.

Wow. We have just read all about Nagayama's sob story.

But not a word about the lives, activities, or dreams of his victims.

My goodness, their names aren't even included here. This report doesn't even have the decency to tell us. They've been totally de-humanized in the name of advancing a viewpoint.

It's too bad they never got a chance to establish a "legacy" that this multiple murderer has left, one that is now being glorified by a biased media outlet.

I agree with the death penalty in principle, but what worries me is the way confessions are obtained in Japan.

Japanese kaw is seriously flawed in this respect.

Hanged or hung?

"if the death penalty should be maintained"

Maybe they should ask the victims' families of the Kyoto arson case the same question. I wonder what they would say?

u_s__reamer

Plus 1

Human rights? Once someone decides to kill someone else they've forfeited all of their human rights

Blood for blood.

If he's really sincere in helping better the lives of deprived children, he could have chosen a JOrganization dedicated to uplift the lives of Jchildren. He shld have considered the children in his own backyard. Or better, donate it to his victims' families or to any institution the families may choose. Good to hear on the positive result though.