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Together For Life - 23 Maggio 2003 - Tokyo
The Catholic Weekly June 1, 2003 (traduzione dal giapponese)Visit of the Secretary-General of St. Egidio Community to appeal the abolition of the death penalty
Prof.
Alberto Quattrucci, the Secretary General of St. Egidio Community, who is
visiting here from Italy, organized a seminar against the death penalty under
the title <Together for Life>, on May 23, at Shufu-Kaikan, Chiyoda-ku,
Tokyo. The St. Egidio Community, a Catholic Christians' Non-Government
Organization, has been internationally proceeding, the movement against the
death penalty sine 2000 cooperating with other organizations. In the Tokyo
seminar, they discussed about establishing a net-work to exchange information on
the death penalty among those who participated in the seminar and other people
who are concerned, and also to organize meetings by religious groups, civilians,
politicians, and the educational world, centring In Italy, the death penalty was abolished in 1946. Yet, it is a wish of St. Egidio Community that it will be abolished in the whole world, said Prof. Quattrucci. And he added, 'In Japan, the execution of the death penalty is carried out in secret. Under such circumstance, the Japanese should know how to speak on this subject without fear.' Prof. Juan Masia, SJ, of Sophia University, introduced his experience in his lecture course on the death penalty and stressed on the importance of education and the role of mass media in order to deepen the understanding of this issue. He introduced the standpoint of the the Bishops' Conference of Japan against the death penalty, and refuted to take up 'the emotion of the victim's family' and 'prevention of crimes' as the reasons for the execution of the death penalty. He went further that it is a violation the authority of God that human beings take one's life in the name of a national community. The way to repentance is open when the way to life is open, and true glory of the human will emerge when they forsake the unforgivable. Rev. Keii Amemori of Buddhist Shinshu Otani denomination talked about their symposium against the death penalty inviting Re% . Megumu Sato, a priest of their denomination and the former Minister of Justice. who had refused to sign the order of the execution, and Mr. Masaharu Harada, a victim's family. Rev. Amemori said that the death penalty increases the retaliate emotion and take an opportunity from a criminal to repent of one's own crime. As far as the death penalty system exists, anguish and sadness of victim's family would never be consoled, he said.Chief priest Ryoji Furukawa of Seimeizan Schweizer Temple succeeded the movement for retrial of the former death row inmates of the Fukuoka Incident (Robbery and Murder happened in 1947 in Fukuoka) from his father Tairyu Furukawa who had continued this movement for 40 years. Rev. Ryoji Furukawa said, we should not repeat the mistrial. The abolition of the death penalty is the wish of all the people'. The message of Rev. Yasumi Hirose, President of Omoto, was read by his representative. According to this message, Onisaburo Deguchi, the founder of Oomoto, urged the abolition of the death penalty in 1930. This was based on the teachings of Oomoto that each person has its own life which is irreplaceable and invaluable accordingly, which was subject to the government's religious suppression. Prof. Koichi Kikuta of Meiji University introduced a newly established Committee of Penal System Reformation as the advisory body to the Ministry of Justice. Although this committee aims at betterment of the conditions of the prisons, there is a possibility to work for the suspension of the death penalty, and in the end, for its abolition. Mr. Nobuto Hosaka, the secretary general of the Diet Members' League against the Death Penalty, reported his interview with Iwao Hakamada who has been suffering from symptoms caused by a long imprisonment, and he said the time has come to submit the bill against the death penalty to the Diet. Misalti YAGISHITA - Campaigner for Abolition of Death Penalty Amnesty International Japan - Together for Life' Why does Amnesty International work for abolition of Death Penalty? Amnesty International (AI) was launched by an English lawyer, Peter Benenson, in May 1961 by the publication of an appeal in The Observer newspaper in London. The use of the death penalty against prisoners of conscience was referred to in its first sentence: "Open your newspaper any day of the week and you will find a report from somewhere in the world of someone being imprisoned, tortured or executed because his opinions or religion are unacceptable to his government." Opposition to the death penalty in the context of political prisoners was part of AI's vision right from the start. In time AI's opposition to the death penalty broadened to include anyone sentenced to death and in 1971 the International Council Meeting, AI's decision-making body, decided to request the United Nations and the Council of Europe to make all possible efforts to achieve the abolition of the death penalty throughout the world. In 1977 AI convened an international conference on the death penalty in Stockholm. Adopted at Conference on the Abolition of the Death Penalty, Declaration of Stockholm points out that: � Recalls that: The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and violates the right to life. � Declares: Its total and unconditional opposition to the death penalty, � Calls upon: All governments to bring about the immediate and total abolition of the death penalty. The Declaration of Stockholm is our basic standard to promote the activities against death penalty. AI Japan's work for Abolition of Death Penalty In 1970, the Japan's branch of Amnesty International was established. In 1977, one of the board members of AI Japan attended the Conference on the Abolition of the Death Penalty where the Declaration of Stockholm was adopted. He wrote the report of the conference on the newsletter. On the same newsletter as Mr. Nishikawa wrote the report, _ we can see another report of the seminar "Public Opinion and Death Penalty' which was the first seminar held in Asia. At that time, the trip to abroad was rare in Japan. It is surprising that in 1977 two people from AI Japan went to abroad and attended the international meetings against death penalty. Thus we can say our activities against death penalty are: l. having a long history, 2. establishing cooperation internationally. On the other hand, AI mandate regulates that we cannot touch upon individual death row inmates' cases in order to make our activities against death penalty independent and international. However, we cooperate with many organizations and individuals including lawyers and Diet members to promote the activities against death penalty. The activities mainly composed by AI members. The members establish the national network called `Me network against Death Penalty." The network has 3 centers in Tokyo, Osaka and Sapporo. The AI Japan network against Death Penalty 1. 'Me translation and dissemination of documents issued by AI. The documents are Facts and Figures, Abolitionist and Retentionist countries, and so on. 2. Advocacy. Our activities of advocacy are: making pamphlets and HP on the web, holding a seminar for the beginners to understand the death penalty, launching campaign events, issuing a newsletter to give the information of death penalty. 3. Protest against the execution. Each year we have a few executions in Japan. At the time of executions, we make postcards to protest against the executions to send the minister of Justice. We hold a protest meeting, too. 4. Cooperation with other NGOs and organizations. We have both international and domestic networks. In domestic, we work together with Forum 90. Internationally, we work together with National Coalition against Death Penalty (NCADP) in the U.S., and the Sant'Egidio. Our Future Issues 1. The weakness of our activities is that we don't know the domestic death penalty situation much. Since we don't touch on each individual death row inmate's case, we cannot see what kind of problems they have. 2. We receive many questions on the death penalty. Some of them are blames for our activities. For example, "You don't know how the murder victims' families feel." We receive many letters and E-mails to blame our activities. The blames are various firm serious one to bad one. These are our responsibilities to answer their questions. 3. We don't have much communications with the murder victims' families. In U.S., they have an organization established by the murder victims' families. AI USA has close relationship with the organization. In Japan, there is few people as a murder victims' family to speak about the abolition of death penalty. Of course there is no organization of murder victims' family against death penalty in Japan. It's going to be an important key to broaden our activities among the public. Ryoji Furukawa - Seimeizan Schweitzer Temple It is my great honour and pleasure to have this opportunity to join this seminar and to speak in front of all distinguished guests. My heartfelt thanks goes to the organizer, St. Egidio Community. We are now preparing for retrial of 'Fukuoka Incident' happened soon after World War II in Fukuoka. This is the 6th claim for retrial since 1965. This is continuation of the movement for Retrial Movement, that my father, Tairyu Furukawa, started for more than 40 years ago. If the request for retrial of Takeo Nishi, a death sentenced and executed, including other convicted, accepted and proved their innocence, the trial would create a sensation for the movement of abolishing death penalty , because it would be a posthumous trial of Takeo Nishi. I believe the trial would be a step towards for the abolition of the death penalty. Here, I would like to explain about the Fukuoka Incident and Retrial Movement of the case. It happened in 1947 in Fukuoka while Japan was under American Occupation, involving a Chinese trader and a Japanese black market dealer. They were shot to death and 80,000 yen was stolen. Although it was an accidental happening, the polite started their investigations predicating the case as an planned robbery and murder, since a Chinese was involved, and the polite arrested seven men. It is said that they were tortured to confession and forced to sign on theblank confession sheet by the polite, but their claim in the court their confessions to be forced one was not taken up under the old lawsuit system. Then Takeo Nishi and Kenjiro Ishii were sentenced to death as the former is the principle and the latter as the executer of the crime. The other four under arrest were sentenced to 5 to 15 years imprisonment as conspirators except one who was released as innocent. Surely there was a certain kind of presser on the Japanese side from Chinese side since the murdered Chinese was in the position of the president of Chinese Association in Fukuoka. It was reported that the chief judge of the court said, ' Please pardon us with two death sentences' , responding to booing from the public gallery demanding the death sentence for all seven suspects. The trial seems to have been carried out very slovenly. After repeated retrials, the death sentence for the two and imprisonment for the others were finalized in 1956. It was my father who met the two death row inmates as a chaplain. Listening to them, my father determined, in 1961, to commit himself in demanding petition and also retrial for the tow. In order to save their lives, and with his belief that the execution of the death penalty would never be carried out while he continues the request for retrial, he started to investigate the case by himself. After visiting the related people and places, reading the report of the trails, and finally wrote 'Research of Fukuoka Incident' . This report was distributed to the then Minister of )Justice, and authorities in various fields. In order to finance the expenses to cover all these activities, he made a tour around Japan for Buddhist friar as well as for the appeal of the case. When he visited Kobe, he eventually met members of 'Kobe Schweitzer Club'. He was told there that his activities carried the spirit of Dr. Schweitzer. Taking this occasion, he established an independent Buddhist temple in 1973, in order to carry his movement beyond the framework of the existing religious organizations, and named the temple 'Seimeizan Schweitzer Temple'. In 1975, 15 years since the start of my father's activities, Ishii was commuted to life imprisonment on June 17. Yet, the other death row inmate, Nishi, was executed on the same day. It is still unknown through what procedures this decision was made. Yet, the petition was continued for Ishii, and he was finally released on parole in 1989 after imprisonment of 43 years. At that time, both Ishii and my father reached the age of seventies. In 1995, after some break, NHK introduced the case in their programme called ETV. On this occasion, the group of lawyers in Fukuoka started to cooperate with the movement for posthumous retrial for Nishi. Then, in 1998, my father met Sister Helen Prejean. She was invited as panelist of the International Gathering in Romania organized by 'people of Religion' of St. Egidio Community. The Community organizes this gathering every year, and my father was also invited as a panelist almost every year. Sister Helen promised my father for her support and assistance, and this encouraged him to re-start of the movement. However, my father passed away before Sister Helen could visit Japan in 2001. With her encouragement, we could carry out a campaign under the title, 'No More Dead Man Walking' , throughout Japan. We are now trying to open retrial while the other convicted are still alive. It is reported that Nishi said before his execution, 'not to afraid of death, but not to repeat the tragedy of the innocent to be executed'. If it is one of the most important missions for people of religion to convey the value of a life, it would be an earnest prayer for them to abolish the death penalty. It would be also a wish of all people, like they wish for world peace. It is said that the 20th century was the century of war and massacre. The 21st century should not follow the same pass, but to move to ' the century of life' , with real] enlightenment of people of religion to value life. In the end, I would like to finish my contribution quoting my father's speech in the Romania Gathering. 'One's life is heavier than the earth. I am afire with enthusiasm to abolish the death penalty through the movement of retrial for the innocent'. Friday, May 23, 2003 at Shufu-Kaikan Plaze F Tendai's Message on Death Penalty Ven. Ryoko Nishioka, Director, Department of Religious Affairs of Tendai Buddhist Denomination The Tendai Buddhist Denomination set up 'Special Committee on Death Penalty' in 1997. After the discussion for almost three years, the Committee submitted, on March 31, 1999, the report to the director of the Department of Religious Affaires, in which it manifested the Tendai would be against the death penalty. The report also included several) points made in the discussion such as; a) the death penalty is to be abolished, yet, there is necessity of legislation of life imprisonment without parole (which means overall reformation of the penalty code), b) it is also necessary to reform the present compulsory education system in order to foster religious emotion among children and the youth. Education for familial reconstruction and cooperation are also mentioned as necessary points to be considered. Here, I would like to introduce the view point of the Committee. I believe this would be supported not only by Tendai buddhists, but also by many buddhists whatever their denominations are and also by the Japanese in general. 1) Buddhism teaches not to take away any life of living creatures. From this point of view to respect all the life, we consider that the death penalty should be abolished. Amnesty International urges also to respect the human rights of assailants taking its foundation on the International Declaration of Human Right (Dec. 1948). Accordingly there is a move directed towards abolition of the death penalty taking its ground on this International Declaration. It reains, however, some problems. It is hard to accept the urge to protect only the human rights of assailants (criminals), because a question rises here about the same rights for victims which were violated by assailants. The point we would like to emphasize here is that the heinous deed of a man is not to be attributed only to his/her own responsibility under the law of cause and effect or retributive justice, but we should fully recognize it as a social concern and as an issue to be carefully considered as a common problem and anguish shared by all the members of a society. 2) Accordingly, the assailant (the criminal) should clearly aware of what he/she has done and should repent of one's crime not only for the family of a victim but also for the whole society. The criminal should live through in order to expiate one's crime, so that he/she could return to the original state of good nature as a human being. In fact, it is reported that there are many cases of the criminal to become to one's sense as a human under appropriate guidance and education by prison chaplains. Of course there are reversed cases to repeat crimes after the release from the prison, and that are not a few. 3) Now, it is the time we have to coexist and live together in symbiosis with nature. It means that ethics for living together as well as social ethics are to be reconsidered. Under such circumstance, it is natural for Buddhists to urge the abolition of the death penalty, as we are living with the Buddah's teachings; 'dignity of life', 'existence of Buddha's spirit in all human beings' and 'tolerance and mercy towards the other'. At the same time, we have to consider to introduce a substitution to replace the death penalty such as the life imprisonment without parole as the deterrent of cirmes. It is not allowed to take away the lite under any circumstance according to Buddha's teaching, yet, it is also important for the criminal to expiate one's crime as a human being. Before questioning about the death penalty, however, we should determined to continue our efforts, as a member of the human society, to firmly establish the social ethics and natural environment in order to have a better society not to be tumbled down easily by malignant deeds of people. That is the mission and responsibility to fulfil as a Buddhist ace the death penalty, such as the life imprisonment without parole. It is not allowed to take away the life under any circumstance accordi Juan Masia, SI Office for Justice and Peace, Catholic Church, Faculty of Theology, Sophia University - I would like to talk about tow points. One is about my experience when I have dealt with the death penalty issue in the University, and the other is about the official standpoint of the Bishops' Conference of Japan on the death penalty. 1. Every year, I take up the abolition of the death penalty in my lecture at the University. It is a course of 'Christian Ethics', which is organized by the Faculty of Theology, but it is also open for students from other Faculties for their free choice. There are about 100 students in the course. Among them, Catholic students occupy only one fifth of the whole.
Before starting the lecture on the mentioned subject, I set out some questionnaire. After the course, I repeat the questionnaire. According to the first questionnaire, more than one third of the students favour for the death penalty. But this number is changed to after the second questionnaire. In the past three years this result is unchanged. My conclusion from this experience is that the Japanese have little information about the death penalty, so they keep the subject as in status quo. If they are given more information, the number who are against the death penalty would be increased. In fact, I am rather concerned with this result. Among those who favour for the death penalty, there are some who urge the necessity to fulfil the retaliatory emotion of the victim of a crime, and the other consider that the death penalty is necessary as the exemplary punishment. These two points, unfortunately, appear quite often in the Japanese mass media, too. I consider this is what we have to think about deeply.] 2) The Bishops' Conference of Japan issued a message, 'Life, the Gift of God' (Seimei, Kami no Tamamono) (p.6) in 1984. In the part referring to abortion, the message urges the necessity to protect human beings from 'the death penalty, war and all other violence against the human rights'. this standpoint of the Bishops' Conference of Japan is taken 'not only from Christian cause, but also out of firm belief a human beings.' In 2001, the Bishops' Conference of Japan issued a Millennium Message under the title, 'A Look to Life' (Inochi e no Manazashi), in which the death penalty is also dealt (pp. 96-101). In this message, counter arguments are introduced to be against the mentioned reasoning for maintenance of the death penalty which are: - 'to consider about the victim's emotion' and 'to prevent crimes'. And the message also says the following viewpoints based on the Holy Bible. a) It is a violation the authority of God that we, human beings, take one's life in the name of a national community. b) God ordered not kilt Cain who committed fratricide. This is God's love to give the human the possibility to live one's life to its utmost even to the one committed a heinous crime. The way to repentance is open when the way to life is open. c) When people forsake the unforgivable, the true glory of the human will emerge. Nobuto Hosaka,Member of National Diet of Japan Secretary General of the Diet Members' League against the Death Penalty I am a member of the National Diet of Japan, and work as the secretary general of the Diet Members' League for the Abolition of the Death Penalty. My name is Nobuto Hosaka. I am very much honoured to be invited to this gathering today and to have an opportunity to speak. I understand that respectful representatives of religions in Japan are invited to this seminar responding to the call of Saint Egidio Community. As a Diet member, I would like to briefly introduce you the move in the Diet on the death penalty. 'Diet Members' League for the Abolition of the Death Penalty' was set up in 1994, when the execution of the death penalty was carried out again in March 1993 after its suspension for three years and four months. Since the establishment of the League, we have done various kinds of activities. Among them, the representations of suspension of the execution, the protest against it each time when it is executed. And since Mr. Shizuka Kamei of LDP was elected as the president of the League in autumn of 2001, we have been working in law making house to draft a bill for the abolition of the death penalty. Last year in May, we invited about 20 members of the Council of Europe, and had a two-day seminar. It was a good occasion to listen to their advices based on their experiences which led to the abolition of the death penalty in European countries. One of the important advices was that we should create, first of all, a situation in which the execution is halt in fact. As you know well, nearly 80 percent of the population in Japan is favour of the death penalty. Even in the Diet, our members are less than 20 percent of the whole members. However, it is vital necessity that politicians are firmly determined, though the number is small, to take an initiative for this issue, without waiting until) the public opinion turns favourably. The bill we are preparing now includes the introduction of the ) life imprisonment without parole in one hand, and the other, the setup of 'Extraordinary Research Committee on the Death Penalty' in the diet, so that the execution could be sustained for some years until the Committee reaches a conclusion. At the same time, we want to discuss during that time about betterment of relief measures for victims of crimes. This bill does not urge immediate abolition of the death penalty, but aims at creating a situation to halt the execution as a milepost to the direction of complete abolition. In addition, we put high priority to develop the quality of our activities to respond to criticism against the abolition such as, 'there is a wide gap between the death penalty and the life imprisonment', or 'only the human rights for assailants are concerned, but protection of victims is not fully regarded '. These points will be discussed in detail tomorrow, May 24, at a symposium organized by the Japan Federation of Bar Associations. This gathering is free of charge and registration is not necessary. I hope you would join it if you have time. As to the bill, we are planning to submit it to the present Diet session upon receiving an approval of the League in its general assembly in early June. Yet there is a high possibility to carry it to the next session. In the Diet, there is a move to dissolve the House of Representative this autumn. So, it is very important that candidates who are against the death penalty would be elected as much as possible in order to continue the discussion of the bill in the next session. In Korea, they have an active movement for abolition of the death penalty. Our League have exchanged several) times with Korean politicians and civilian organizations who are working for the abolition. There is one characteristic feature there. They have many enthusiasts among the clergies. As to Japan, there are active movements by Forum 90 or Amnesty Japan, but unfortunately movements by people of religions are not yet active enough. Our League members are also minor in the Diet, yet, we are proceeding our activities with a firm conviction. So, I hope you, people of religions, would assist and support our movements. Even if the bill we are preparing now is passed in the Diet, we still do not know what conclusion the Extraordinary Research Committee on the Death Penalty would reach to as to maintaining or abolishing the death penalty. I earnestly wish people of religions would continue strongly to appeal this issue to people. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
the Community of Sant'Egidio
Abolitions, 
Amnesty
International Japan.In the seminar, religious representatives of Japan, people
in charge of education, lawyers, representatives of Diet members, and civil
organizations such as the Amnesty International Japan and Forum 90 talked their
point of view on the given theme <Together for Life>. In fact, the aim of
Prof. Quattrucci's visit this time is to bridge several groups in Japan who work
against the death penalty.