Mainichi Shimbun

JAPAN: Group moves to abolish death penalty

A parliamentary league demanding the abolition of death penalty is poised to take action to initiate full-scale discussions in the Diet on the issue, the Mainichi has learned Thursday.

 The nonpartisan body, headed by former Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) chief policymaker Shizuka Kamei and comprising of 121 legislators, is poised to submit to the next Diet session a bill aimed at setting up a government panel on the issue. It will also simultaneously introduce a bill to revise the Penal Code that would discourage courts from handing down death sentences.

 This will be the 1st time that the Diet has held full-scale discussions on the death penalty since 1956, when a bill aimed at abolishing capital punishment was submitted to the legislature but ended up being scrapped without being put to a vote.

 Under the proposal made by the league, an ad hoc council on the death penalty would be established under the Cabinet and comprise of Diet members and experts on legal affairs among others.

 The panel would conduct research on the situation in European and other countries that have abolished the capital punishment, interview experts and hold public hearings on the issue. Based on such research activities, the panel would hold in-depth discussions on the pros and cons of the death penalty.

 The bill will clearly state that abolition of the death penalty is a world trend, and make it difficult to execute death-row inmates until the council is disbanded.

 A bill aimed at amending the Penal Code will be based on a private proposal made by Toshiko Hamayotsu, a Komeito member of the House of Councillors and lawyer-turned politician.

 While retaining the death penalty, the bill would establish a "special" indefinte prison term, under which prisoners could not be released on parole until they have spent 20 to 30 years behind bars. The clause is aimed at discouraging courts from handing down death sentences.

 The parliamentary league worked out an outline of a bill last spring to revise the Penal Code that would do away with the death penalty while establishing a "heavy" indefinite imprisonment, under which prisoners serving such a prison term could never be released on parole.

 However, it decided not to completely do away with the capital punishment in a compromise with a large number of LDP legislators, who have voiced stiff opposition to completely abolishing the death penalty.

 Japan is under pressure to get scrap the death penalty. The Council of Europe is threatening to strip Japan and the United States of their observer status unless they implement a moratorium on the execution of death-row inmates.