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Noda defends use of death penalty

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Japan's judicial system has no mechanisms to ensure a fair trial, nothing that even resembles and appellate process, the police force confessions, prosecutors tamper with and make up evidence as it suits them. In this environment, the death penalty itself is murder. Any one of us, any of our children, could be picked up tomorrow and found guilty of murder we had no part in, sentenced to death, and there would be not a fragment of hope that we would ever be exonerated.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

The murder rate is not the only guage to determine if the death penalty works to prevent someone who is not evil from becoming a murderer over anger, jealousy, or some other act of rage. That can not be measured by simple data of criminal activity. It is not short term prevention but long term correction.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

But if murder is a punishable crime, the state shouldn't be practicing it itself, even against criminals. Keeping people restrained against their will is also a a punishable crime but the state regularly imprisons people.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Noda justifies the death penalty as a deterrent but....Here is a link to a full PDF of a paper that purports to demonstrate that capital punishment does not have a deterrent effect in Japan, by analysing the murder rate in months following execution announcements (normalized for seasonal variation) http://www.hss.ocha.ac.jp/psych/socpsy/sakamoto/media/2003-2004/capital%20punishment%20text.pdf It finds that murders increase after execution announcements.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Take a look at all the scandals coming out of Chiba and Osaka in particular of prosecutor and police investigator incompetence and dishonesty tampering with evidence and getting coerced or forged confessions. Given the incompetence of many of the prefectural police forces and the reliance on confessions (indeed, people confess to avoid the death penalty - multiple murderers who plead innocent are much more likely to be sentenced to death).

On the reverse side, the fact that it is usually reserved only for the most extreme cases of multiple murders means, on a case by case basis, it is often hard to oppose. For Aum members, or mass murders like the Akihabara massacre guy.

But if murder is a punishable crime, the state shouldn't be practicing it itself, even against criminals.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Something never said above, criminals tend to kill again... no system is perfect because humans are failable thus best result be achieved with some innocents. I only wish death penalty when 99.999% sure. And yes, if in public,it would allow people to know what is justice. Visit to prisons should be also proposed.

Imagine Hitler/Staline.. being given meals, watching Tv, reading some books they love...

Japan is fair but not open. By the way, claiming you are innocent is as worthy as claiming you saw Jesus or the devil. Works in the two ways. One can fool once two persons but cannot fool twice the same. Learn with history.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

So I would say return to having the sentence carried out in public. This alone would do more to make the reality of the death sentence real to the population, much more so than a higher number being executed behind closed doors. Why should the state get to carry out the ultimate punishment behind the curtain; it seems counter intuitive to the whole purpose of capital punishment. As to the convict who is being executed, well his right to privacy should be a tertiary concern at the least. His/Her crime was, after all, very public.

Oh brilliant, bread and circuses. Really classy. Why not have them fight to the death in a colosseum while you're at it? The masses really need their blood sports, after all. Nothing to entertain people like watching others die and cheering it on.

That you could even suggest that without irony is grotesque, and you should be ashamed of yourself for it. It debases people to the most vile, bloodthirsty savages to encourage them to enjoy the death of a fellow human being, and you'll soon find that the result is a population of people who are more brutal, more sadistic, more drawn to violence, and more prone to crime themselves. That's the brutalisation effect, right there.

I couldn't watch anyone being executed, no matter what they'd done.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

the death sentence is final and no recovering from that and it's too unsafe to ensure an innocent person won't be executed. It has happened and will continue to happen...

But also don't forget that many innocent people have been sentenced to life in prison too.

And some of those will have emerged from their incarceration with severe mental problems.

That's cruel and barbaric, too.

The anti-death penalty crowd like to think they are very humane but the simple fact is the systems of punishment they themselves are proposing are also barbaric and cruel to some degree.

There's no perfect system. Locking up another human being, effectively caging them like an animal, will strip away their dignity to some degree.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

I think that capital punishment is a sound doctrine unless you can prove that the court systems are wrought with error and that you have a lot of innocent people getting convicted and sentenced and then the sentences are being overturned. Now, I’ll be the first to say I do not know everything that there is to know about the Japanese justice system and their error rate but I will say that no system is perfect. That being said, it seems that Japan is much more careful with the application of death charges and the sentencing of criminals to death. On the surface it seems much more even than what we see in some US states and in nations like China. Maybe what we need is to have some system that automatically audits those capital cases so as to avoid innocent people being executed. I think that when someone commits a certain type of crime he/she should be made to pay the ultimate price; to lose their life. Capital punishment should be rare and when it is used it should be used in a way to make the largest social impact. So I would say return to having the sentence carried out in public. This alone would do more to make the reality of the death sentence real to the population, much more so than a higher number being executed behind closed doors. Why should the state get to carry out the ultimate punishment behind the curtain; it seems counter intuitive to the whole purpose of capital punishment. As to the convict who is being executed, well his right to privacy should be a tertiary concern at the least. His/Her crime was, after all, very public.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Here's a link to a scientific paper about the effect of long-term imprisonment on the metal health of prisoners.

It's only an abstract but it states that:

Participants experienced a mean of three traumatic events, with 14 per cent developing a Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) subsequently. In each national sample, more than 50 per cent of the participants were in need of treatment because of psychological symptoms and nearly one-third had attempted suicide.

http://pun.sagepub.com/content/13/4/403.abstract

I think this shows that 'life in prison' can also be a very barbaric and cruel punishment.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

I also wonder about how many comforts and educational opportunities should be given to convicted murderers, given that their victims have has all such comforts and opportunities ripped away from them...

0 ( +1 / -3 )

@zichi

Thanks for the interesting information.

It doesn't change the basic point I am trying to make here... no system of punishment is perfect.

Capital punishment is often rejected as being barbaric and cruel... I understand that and I understand the strong arguments against cp, for example an innocent person might be killed.

However, life in prison is also barbaric and cruel to some degree.

It can have severe mental impact on the prisoner... potentially causing severe mental problems that continue after they are released.

An innocent person might equally be sentenced to a life in prison.

I suppose we could view 'life in prison' as a lesser of too evils.

However, I do think people who reject the death penalty should also look objectively at the punishment of 'life in prison' and how it is also barbaric and cruel to some degree...

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Justice is something different than vengeance

OK... feelings of vengeance... naughty, naughty... let's keep those feelings in check...

But how about the punishment part? What happened to that?

We don't punish people these days?

everyone must be treated with dignity by society.

This is what I am saying... if someone comes out from 'life in jail' mentally disturbed then they haven't been treated with much dignity, have they?

The point I am making is that, OK, capital punishment is barbaric... but let's not forget that 'life in prison' is also barbaric and cruel to some degree...

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

For horrendous crimes, I'm in support of PM Noda. Got a friend who was murdered and yet didn't want his killer executed? I guess you'll be singing a different song if one of your family was murdered.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

@choiwaruoyaji: with this logic, obviously you end up to pro-capital punishment. Justice is something different than vengeance and everyone must be treated with dignity by society. What is the problem with rehabilitation? Using the argument of money saving in favor of death punishment is very short minded.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

A life in prison doesn't have to be hell, and indeed an essential aspect of prisons in many countries, particularly in northern Europe, is rehabilitation

The question of rehabilitation is interesting.

How comfortable do you make life in prison?

How many opportunities and comforts could you give a person like, for example, Robert Black, the notorious child murderer from Britain?

How does it feel for a family to know that their loved one has had all opportunities for education, for love, for comfort ripped away, and yet the murderer is having huge amounts of money spent on his/her comforts and educational opportunities?

It's a difficult question...

-6 ( +0 / -6 )

If asked, which would a condemned man choose knowing he was innocent of his crime. Execution or life in prison knowing he'll have hope and time to try and prove he was wrongly condemned?

How about if that same innocent man were shown a gibbering wreck of a lunatic, driven insane by a life in prison...

Well, I still suppose he would choose 'life in prison' and just hope he didn't suffer mental problems as a result of it...

-6 ( +0 / -6 )

But even if we do accept that two decades in prison is a "barbaric" punishment, it is at least reversible if the prisoner is found innocent.

But how about if the prisoner has suffered severe mental disturbance as a result of incarceration for so many years? That's not necessarily reversible. That might be permanent mental damage. Very cruel and inhumane.

I guess under the 'life in prison' system we just have to hope that the prisoners keep their sanity.

As I say, things are not quite as clear cut as some would have us believe.

We keep prisoners locked away for the protection of society

What happened to the punishment part of it?!

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

Noda's a douchebag, what else is new. The death penalty has been proven to be... NOT A DETERRENT. I'm glad the death penalty is getting some attention, but I don't have much faith in the politicians to do anything about it anytime soon.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

that's 3 days in a row on 3 different threads someone has demanded death penalty for rape. wow.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

The alternatives to capital punishment are also barbaric to some degree.

An innocent person could also suffer a life in prison... that's very cruel as well.

A life in prison doesn't have to be hell, and indeed an essential aspect of prisons in many countries, particularly in northern Europe, is rehabilitation: i.e. offering the prisoner the opportunity to reform away from a criminal environment. Even Myra Hindley was able to pursue an Open University degree in prison. We keep prisoners locked away for the protection of society, not for revenge.

But even if we do accept that two decades in prison is a "barbaric" punishment, it is at least reversible if the prisoner is found innocent. The prisoner can live to see his/her name cleared, can receive redress, and can work on making something good of the remainder of his/her life. This is not the case if they are executed.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind...

It's a technicality but this is not true.

If a third party takes the eye of someone who had taken the eye of someone else then the third party would still be full-sighted.

I suppose you have to rephrase it as: "An eye for an eye leaves everybody involved in the initial incident blind."

Anyway, a life in prison can leave people severely mentally disturbed so doing away with the death penalty is not as clear-cut as some would have us believe...

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

It's about respecting the dignity of life and not living by the laws of the jungle.

Locking a person in a cell strips away the dignity of life, too.

This issue is not black and white.

The alternatives to capital punishment are also cruel and barbaric to some degree.

Although the anti-cp crowd don't like to dwell on that.

-7 ( +0 / -7 )

Why do people wholeheartedly support the state stringing up people who could well be innocent?

The alternatives to capital punishment are also barbaric to some degree.

An innocent person could also suffer a life in prison... that's very cruel as well.

-6 ( +0 / -6 )

I'm not sure what is so controversial here. Assuming these folks on death row are beyond reforming to be put back into the society they betrayed. Why keep them around endlessly taking up tax payer's money when there is no future for them anyways. I say the real atrocity here is we don't purge the death row queue at a faster rate.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

LOL! This is Japan, honey... Here rape and pedophilia are "punished" with SUSPENDED SENTENCES. Not death. You want death? Go to Saudi Arabia where they behead rapists and pedophiles in public! Now that's a punishment that fits the crime. :-)

Sadly I know this fact. However I believe those crimes warrant the death penalty.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Noda is right here.

"I had a friend murdered. Yet I don't want the killer executed."

What right does your dead friend's murderer have to live?

-8 ( +0 / -8 )

mustard and patrick, I am in absolute agreement. well said.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

You want death? Go to Saudi Arabia where they behead rapists and pedophiles in public!

Age of marriage in S.A.? 8 years old. Definition of rape? Overlaps so much with sex outside of marriage, that there is essentially no such thing as rape, but rather adultery.

I don't want death. And I sure as hell don't want Saudi Arabia. I don't agree with all of Japan's suspended sentences, but I agree with none of S.A.'s executions thank you very much. Japan is definity a safer place across the board.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

You've never had a family member or friend murdered in cold blood, have you?

Serrano, how very nice of you to step up to the plate and prove my point.

Logical people don't expect grieving people to be logical. To posit that a person would be expected to remain rational after having a family member murdered is the height of irrationality.

Some will remain rational of course, but only an irrational fool would expect most of them to make rational after such traumatic experience.

I had a friend murdered. Yet I don't want the killer executed. Does that count?

Yeah, I know its a wonder I did not give in to that self-righteous evil desire to see him hang, right?

3 ( +4 / -1 )

I support the laws that any country makes. Sharia...sure.

-6 ( +0 / -6 )

KariHaruka

Anyone who commits murder, rape and pedophilia should be executed. If they don't want to act like a part of human society and would rather destroy the lives of others, well lets destroy their lives.

Franchesca Miyara YangMar. 31, 2012 - 08:02PM JST

LOL! This is Japan, honey... Here rape and pedophilia are "punished" with SUSPENDED SENTENCES. Not death. You want death? Go to Saudi Arabia where they behead rapists and pedophiles in public! Now that's a punishment that fits the crime. :-)

Best reply of the day.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Excellent comments from both sides of the fence.

Although I'm in the 85% approval group, you guys opposing capital punishment make very good and valid points. I understand where you guys are coming from.

Patrick Smash really said it well. His comments do make a lot of sense and it's very true. From his quote "In certain cases where there is zero doubt I don't have a huge problem with the death sentence. "

I wholeheartedly agree and that's where i support capital punishment.

Murderer's like Tatsuya Ichihashi, Joji Obara, Tomohiro Katō amongst many others who are clearly in the Zero doubt category deserve no mercy and that's where i have absolutely no issue with the death penalty. And these guys should get sent to hell in the same manner they committed their crimes, however barbaric it may be.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

You've never had a family member or friend murdered in cold blood, have you?

An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind...

10 ( +10 / -0 )

KariHaruka

Finally something which Noda has said that I can agree with with. Anyone who commits murder, rape and pedophilia should be executed. If they don't want to act like a part of human society and would rather destroy the lives of others, well lets destroy their lives.

LOL! This is Japan, honey... Here rape and pedophilia are "punished" with SUSPENDED SENTENCES. Not death. You want death? Go to Saudi Arabia where they behead rapists and pedophiles in public! Now that's a punishment that fits the crime. :-)

-4 ( +2 / -5 )

Sorry the guy has been in power less than 1 year, you can not just make a statement like this.

0 ( +2 / -1 )

"Noda defends use of death penalty" He can't . It is indefensible. Killing is wrong, pure and simple.

7 ( +9 / -2 )

"We have judged that it is difficult to immediately abolish the death penalty,considering the current situation where the number of violent crimes does not fall and crimes continue"

Yeah, good logic there, Noda. The death penalty is failing to act as a deterrent, so let's keep it, because otherwise...what? It's a typical Japanese hand wringing excuse: "oh, I know it's a perverse system, but changing things would be 'difficult', so let's leave it as it is". This man really is spineless.

The death penalty is not befitting of any nation that dares to call itself enlightened. Execution works to delegitimise the idea that killing is wrong. It renders this idea as a relative - killing is wrong except for some people, and when it is done by some people. This harm is not just abstract; studies in the United States have shown that immediately following high profile executions, there is frequently a corresponding increase in murder rates. This happens as people in society internalise the logic that death is a legitimate punishment for someone who has wronged them. http://www.e-archives.ky.gov/pubs/Public_Adv/nov97/crime_control.htm

Worse, the moralistic pronouncement of the death penalty detracts from efforts towards understanding, and thus preventing crime. Much as we may revile them, the fact remains that murderers are not born - they're made. Particularly the case in areas with a massive bifurcation between rich and poor, but also in dysfunctional households and social settings, in some environments crime simply becomes the normal route for a person to take in his/her life. It becomes something that he/she sees as inevitable.

If Noda REALLY wants a reduction in overall crime rates, he would do well to look into why this is the case in Japan, and what can be done to mend this appalling situation. As it is, simply executing a perpetrator puts a stop to this process of healing. It makes the simplistic pronouncement that the individual is naturally wicked, and killing them will put a stop to it. And thus the cycle continues, with more and more death.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

"The death penalty should be abolished." God almighty. This is the high school debate premise that my parents met over in the school speech club. Still not resolved.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

"We have judged that it is difficult to immediately abolish the death penalty,considering the current situation where the number of violent crimes does not fall and crimes continue"

So, he wants to keep the death penalty because it isn't working? I'm not sure I follow his logic.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

He just said that to make his defense of raising the consumption tax to 10% look less outrageous in comparison.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Readers, please keep the discussion focused on Japan.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

SerranoMar. 31, 2012 - 06:20PM JST

You've never had a family member or friend murdered in cold blood, have you?

I have, have you?

And I still think the death penalty is barbaric and primitive, and open to miscarriages that cannot be corrected at a later date. Give murderers hard labor, give them 24 hours shut down, give them life meaning life, but killing them?

9 ( +12 / -3 )

"death penalty supporters are not being logical"

You've never had a family member or friend murdered in cold blood, have you?

-4 ( +5 / -9 )

Perhaps the death penalty is indeed not a deterrent ... but couldn't there be another reason for applying it?

and like that, Japan may be the only country in the OECD that might raise the 'economic argument' for the death penalty.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Great post Patrick. And very true for the most part. But I don't think that Mr. Noda believes that the system is corrupt. If he did, why didn't he start out by trying to reform the system? He just accepts what he is told or does not want to play any part in changing the system because he feels they deserve it. As long as interrogations are not monitored, than the death penalty seems to be even more of a crime, because we just have to take the police at the word. Fat chance of me doing that though. If they are really doing there job properly than there is no reason to not have the interrogations videotaped. That poor Mr. Sugaya and others like him. I pray for those innocents who are being treated so unfairly. I wish the executions would be put on hold until at least the system can be reformed.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Patrick SmashMar. 31, 2012 - 05:15PM JST

Why do people wholeheartedly support the state stringing up people who could well be innocent? Read up on the Japanese justice system and how the confessions that convict the majority of prisoners are obtained, then decide if this is okay or not

Hear, hear.

Sadly I think the 85% approval rate in Japan is correct, but ask them whether someone they know should receive the death penalty for murder and the number reverses to a likewise statistic.

Empathy is not the strongest emotion in Japan

10 ( +11 / -1 )

We have judged that it is difficult to immediately abolish the death penalty, considering the current situation where the number of violent crimes does not fall and crimes continue,” he said.

This kind of logic really bothers me. One has nothing to do with the other. What is he trying to wait for the fact to sink in that you will be executed for killing someone before stopping the executions? I am sorry, to the pro CP groups out there, but I just don't get it.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

You guys can up with good reasons against the death penalty all day long. In the end, supporters won't listen, and it has far more to do with "just liking" the death penalty, and your good, sound, logical arguments just smack up into that brick wall. Sure, excuses that almost sound logical will be trotted out, but none of them will withstand any logical test. The only conclusion is that death penalty supporters are not being logical, and that is for a whole host of very poor reasons, including this one by Noda, which is just plain stupidity.

8 ( +11 / -3 )

but couldn't there be another reason for applying it?

Yes. There are many other stupid short-sighted reasons for applying it, but I can think of one reason that isn't either. That reason is when people get off on the fact that someone was hung by the neck until dead. It makes some people's hearts pump fast and makes them feel really alive. I call that reason pure evil.

6 ( +9 / -3 )

saying the system receives up to 85% Japanese public approval...

These statistics are wheeled out every time there is a question on capital punishment.

It would be interesting to know who the sample were, when it was taken, and who conducted the study. If it was anything like the public survey take for supporting the use of the Tokyo Aqualine, conducted by the Road Traffic Ministry themselves, they may be subject to doubt skewing, and doubt.

3 ( +7 / -4 )

Perhaps the death penalty is indeed not a deterrent ... but couldn't there be another reason for applying it?

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Finally something which Noda has said that I can agree with with. Anyone who commits murder, rape and pedophilia should be executed. If they don't want to act like a part of human society and would rather destroy the lives of others, well lets destroy their lives.

-12 ( +7 / -19 )

Me too. I wholeheartedly support.

-9 ( +11 / -20 )

My respect to Noda.

-9 ( +11 / -20 )

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