Japan would be better off without death penalty: Italian activist

He's right: it would send the message that Japan is the most civilized country in Asia.

Japan would even better off without hostage justice system, where people being held for weeks with constant coercion to confess.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/03/19/japan/crime-legal/hostage-justice-renewed-spotlight/

https://www.fccj.or.jp/event/press-conference-abolishing-japans-hostage-justice-system-takano-cho-and-nomura

human rights activist Mario, want Japan to drop the death penalty, well thank you for you wisdom, but it's not required, this is Japan and Japan has its own rules, although I disagree with the hostage justice system

Italy should stick to their laws and dealing with their crimes. If they do not believe in the ultimate punishment, for the very worst of crimes, good for them : they are a sovereign nation and can decide themselves.

Last time I checked Japan has a lower rate of murder and heinous crime than Italy, so must be doing something right.

Well, take a look at World crime rate statistics. Japan obviously has one of the lowest in the world, Italy waaaay down the list. Italy should be taking a knee on this one.

Well said by this activist,the death penalty is a cruel,vindictive and outdated practice not worth to a modern and civilised society.

Mr Mario Marazziti should better go to South America, where they want to reintroduce the death penalty. The number of assassinations has gone through the roof since they abolished the death penalty.

Japan should execute more murderers. At present only those who have killed 2 or more are considered. This should be anyone who has killed for financial gain. If you value money over human life, society does not need you.

Mind your own business, Mario.

At present only those who have killed 2 or more are considered.

This is incorrect, and keeps getting repeated for reasons unknown.

While less common than multiple-victim murderers, 16 single-victim murderers have been executed since 1993.

It seems like most of the comments on this news story are from Japanese or American readers.

In more socially advanced and progressive nations, the case for the death penalty is so weak that it’s no longer even up for debate

The death penalty is pure, irrational evil, and I’d encourage you to reexamine your beliefs about its reality.

Violent revenge and retribution have no place in a modern justice system. They are relics of the past that less progressive nations cling to out of baseless fear.

> TamaramaToday  07:53 am JST

Well, take a look at World crime rate statistics. Japan obviously has one of the lowest in the world, Italy waaaay down the list. Italy should be taking a knee on this one.

Hasty generalization that lacks any factual basis.

There’s no evidence to support the idea that the death penalty deters crime—that’s one of the key reasons most of the world abandoned it over 50 years ago!

Comparing crime rates between developed nations with vastly different justice and reporting systems is highly unreliable at best.

It has little to do with morality and a lot to do with politics.

The death penalty has broad popular support in Japan. Politicians like issues with broad popular support, as it makes it easy to decide whether to support those issues or not.

Thus, I don't see Japan abolishing it any time soon unless there's a very noticeable shift in public opinion on the matter.

I'm not much of a fan of humanity overall, so the concept of the death penalty doesn't bother me as much as it does some people.

State sanctioned murder seems to be very popular amongst the Japanese and American commenters for obvious reasons. It doesn’t stop capital crimes from happening at all. It is no deterrence. It is purely revenge murders by a weak political class desperate to seem like they are doing something about crime.

 If you value money over human life, society does not need you.

If true, there are just too many to top. A few days ago in New York there was an extra-judicial execution by someone with a similar idea.

Not your country..

Not your business..

Their country..

Their rules..

Like it or not, death penalty will stay..

GO JAPAN..

without death penalty: Italian activist

Japan needs Italian activists like a fish needs a bicycle.

The European countries abolished their death penalties decades ago.

As of December 31, 2023, 144 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice, which is almost three-quarters of the world's countries.

They need a Plus-one.

Italy should stick to their laws and dealing with their crimes.

It is. This guy is not the government, but an activist.

In more socially advanced and progressive nations, the case for the death penalty is so weak that it’s no longer even up for debate

It's not really up for debate in Japan, either, and most other Asian countries for that matter. There is a solid consensus spanning Japan's govt, judiciary and the public in favor of it.

Interesting to notice, by the down votes and comments to, how most Americans, Japanese and Chinese agrees to this barbaric and medieval state murder. This clearly shows the empathy and compassion of the people, or better put, the lack of it.

Ironically, there are worst punishments then death, like living with your self for the rest of your life with what you did between 4 walls...

As an American outsider, I’ll observe that Japanese culture does not and has never held to the Judeo-Christian belief that life is a gift of God, and ending life through suicide or execution is a sin.

In the Japanese culture where suicide is viewed as a reasonable way to deal with personal or familial shame, does any rational person think the population is going to believe the death penalty is a problem?

This Italian human rights activist Marizziti is off his rocker trying to apply his views apply to Japan - as are the commenters supporting his views.

Brian Wheway’s comment reads like China’s go-to answer about outsiders not meddling in the country’s internal domestic affairs. I’m not sure that a refusal to accept outside ideas is always healthy.

Ok let me see which society is safer Europe or Japan. Hmm.

Tell that to your country. Let Japanese decide their own internal affairs. The word meddling has resonance.

In an opinion poll conducted by the Japanese government in 2019, 80.8 percent said the existence of capital punishment "could not be helped."

What information exactly does a question like this reveal?

People are resigned to having capital punishment?

They want to get rid of capital punishment but can't?

Capital punishment is an integral part of society?

I suspect whoever came up with the question for this opinion poll didn't know what they wanted to ask. (Or perhaps they knew they wanted a specific outcome)

Since 1945, capital punishment in Japan has evolved to some degree. It falls heaviest on individuals who kill for profit, such as during a kidnapping for ransom; in cases where victims are weak members of society, such as children or the handicapped; in cases where the killing is performed as a malicious act, such as by random slashers; and in cases where the accused is judged to be incorrigible, such as repeat offenders and career criminals, including gang leaders. In contrast, I've seen cases where a person who killed another in the course of a drunken brawl sentenced to eight years. So capital punishment could not be described as arbitrary. But men like Iwao Hakamada or Sadamichi Hirasawa, who spent over 40 years on death row because a Minister of Justice would not sign off on their execution, is another type of problem entirely. If the death penalty can't be abolished right away, I would still hope to see its being phased out gradually.

Can't believe I'm agreeing with @TokyoLiving on something!

Mind your own business Mario. Hang'em high Japan.

GO DEATH PENALTY!

"Human rights" agitators like this nobody should just keep quiet. Does he have any connection to Japan, or is he even able to find Japan on a map? Probably not. Pipe down and cause trouble in your own country. Japan is doing just fine, much better than Italy, in fact.

I tend to agree on the grounds that most of the prisoners on death row committed their murders so they would receive the death penalty.

HercolobusToday  12:35 pm JST

Tell that to your country. Let Japanese decide their own internal affairs. The word meddling has resonance.

It's nothing to do with Japanese affairs; it's a human rights violation to kill citizens.

All human rights organizations prohibit the death penalty.

Japan is breaking an international law to protect human rights.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The death penalty violates the right to life and the right to be free from cruel or inhumane punishment. 

The death penalty is considered a violation of the prohibition of torture or cruel and inhuman treatment in certain cases, such as when the victim is a juvenile, pregnant woman, or person with a mental disability. 

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch oppose the death penalty.

By allowing the government the power to execute its citizens, you are surrendering not only your own right to live but also that of your family members.

> mallaceToday  04:26 pm JST

By allowing the government the power to execute its citizens, you are surrendering not only your own right to live but also that of your family members.

Indeed, most here don't realise what they're wishing for.

The Japanese judicial system can kill you or your family members if they choose at will, even if you or they are completely innocent.

Let that sink in before agreing to the death penalty.

It's difficult to know how many convicts were executed for wrongful convictions. One is one too many.

HercolobusToday  12:35 pm JST

Tell that to your country. Let Japanese decide their own internal affairs. The word meddling has resonance.

Many of Japan's democratic, labor rights, civil rights, economic policies, laws, and social reforms, such as suffrage (women's right to vote), were the result of pressure and influence from outside Japan.

But I'm sure you already knew that being such an expert on Japan. :)

I'm amazed at how many gaijin activists know better than the vast majority of Japanese themselves what would be better for the country. Obnoxious, isn't it!

> ebisenToday  09:24 pm JST

I'm amazed at how many gaijin activists know better than the vast majority of Japanese themselves what would be better for the country. Obnoxious, isn't it!

What truly amazes me is how many Japanese people (?) seem to know better than human rights organizations and the majority of the global population about what is best for human beings, whether they are Japanese or any nationality. It's not okay to kill another human being.

The death penalty is a violation of human rights—it's not a domestic issue, but a matter that transcends borders and affects all of humanity.

I think Mr Mario Marazziti, being human rights expert, should focus his attention on the number of people killed each year by the Mafia in Italy ( 20 to 30 on average).

Perhaps he should devote more energy into trying to persuade the Italian legislators that such criminal organisations are totally anachronistic in this day and age.

> MartimuranoToday  11:37 pm JST

I think Mr Mario Marazziti, being human rights expert, should focus his attention on the number of people killed each year by the Mafia in Italy ( 20 to 30 on average).

Perhaps he should devote more energy into trying to persuade the Italian legislators that such criminal organisations are totally anachronistic in this day and age.

If everyone strictly adhered to only dealing with issues at home, many international initiatives and the progress that’s been made globally for centuries would never have happened.

A lot of important work—whether it’s in global health, human rights, climate change, or humanitarian aid—requires a broader perspective and the willingness to help beyond one's own community.

Besides, can't he work on more than one thing at a time?

Japan is violating some people's human rights by executing them. That's something we should all be fighting to stop, because who knows—one day it could be us or someone we care about who needs protection.

pecad:

Japan is violating some people's human rights by executing them.

You're looking at this upside down!

It's the criminals who are violating human rights; punishment is justice.

Whether a convicted killer remains alive in prison or dies, "the world, Japan, nobody, the life of anybody does not change because they are already in jail," the co-founding member of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty told Kyodo News in Tokyo. "So the population is safe in both cases."

Yeah ,Nah. What happen if a revolt take place and. as a result of the takeover and are orders the opening of jail which is a real possible because it as been done before many times. You now have Psychopaths loose on the street but if they were executed. The above statement has no logic.

Ask the people most of them are for the death penalty Japan doesn’t need to listen to this Italian guy maybe he should look at his own country first we doing just fine…