The Asia-Pacific Journal | Japan Focus Volume 2 | Issue 2 | Feb 28, 2004

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Death Penalty and the Media

Yamaguchi Masanori

Death Penalty and the Media

by Yamaguchi Masanori

When I tell people that ten years ago the deathpenalty in Japan was re-instated, most peopleprobably would respond, "What? Haven't webeen applying the death penalty all this time?"

The United Nations General Assembly passedthe "International Agreement to Abolish theDeath Penalty" resolution in December, 1989.Because of such world-wide social pressure,Japan had already suspended the death penaltyin November of that year. On February 26,1993, however, three people were executedunder orders of Gotoda Masaharu, the Ministerof Justice. This was only three years and fourmonths after suspension of the death penalty inJapan. Since then, in the last ten years, theMinistry of Justice has applied the deathpenalty almost once every six months.

In contrast to Japan, the movement to abolishthe death penalty has never stopped in the restof the world. According to a survey taken byAmnesty Japan, as of January 1, 2003, thenumber of nations that have abolished thedeath penalty is 112, and the number of nationsstill practicing it is 83. Among the developednations, though, only Japan and the UnitedStates still have the death penalty.

When the death penalty was first carried outagain in 1993, the Yomiuri Newspaper reportedthis news on the front page of its morningedition. There was also extensive TV coveragein the morning news. By evening, many othernewspapers also picked up the story.

For a while -- right after this happened -- themedia immediately covered all executions, andbrought up discussions about the death penaltywhenever an execution took place. However, inthe last several years, such news has becomedaily fare, and the public's interest has beenlanguishing. Now, newspapers just reportannouncements or summarize what happenedin just a few lines. When an execution tookplace this past September, just one year afterthe previous one, this also received little notice.

However, in contrast to the attitude towardactual executions, the trials and court decisionsinvolving the death penalty are still closelywatched. Eleven people were given deathsentences in 2000, nine in 2001, fifteen in2002, and twelve as of September, 2003 [Citedin 'Forum 90: Requesting Ratification of theInternational Agreement to Abolish the DeathPenalty' (Shikei Haishi Kokusai Joyaku no Hijuno Motomeru Foramu 90)]. Each time a deathsentence was levied, the media heavilyreported on the "feelings of the victim," andreaders often felt that "The death penalty isfair, because the criminal committed murder."The news media contributes to this feeling ofretributive punishment that the general publicshares with the victims' families.

An issue to consider, however, is that the medialeads the charge of this public cry forretribution even in cases where the convictedwere actually innocent. For example, in the'Muscle Relaxants Injection Case' (KinshiKanzai Jiken), after the Sendai District Courtsentenced the defendant to life imprisonmenton November 28, 2003, newspaper headlinesreported such things as "Victims' Families Seekthe Death Penalty." The next day on November

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29th, the Asahi Newspaper interviewed themother of one of the victims -- a little girl whowas almost killed -- and declared that failure toapply the death penalty was unfair to thevictims' families. The media leads the public inclamoring for the death penalty, even if theaccused insists on his or her innocence.

There were actually four people in Japan whoescaped their death sentences from theSupreme Court when new evidence was foundthat proved their innocence. Menda Sakae (ofthe Menda Case) and Akabori Masao (of theShimada Case) were two of the four. OnNovember 14, 2003, they attended the meetingof Citizens to Abolish the Death Penaltysponsored by Amnesty Japan and others held ineastern Kyoto and attended by almost 160people.

Mr. Menda, who was haunted by a nagging"fear of execution" for thirty-two years eversince he was first convicted, told people that,"Almost seventy judges had heard my case, butonly two judges saw the truth of the matter. Ialso witnessed seventy people being executedwhile I was in prison. Among them, some hadinsisted on their innocence, like me." Mr.Akabori, who was in prison for thirty-five yearsafter he was forced to sign a confession bypolice, also appealed to the public: "Manypeople died in prison or are executed, even ifthey insist on their innocence. Please abolishthe death penalty."

Some victims' families also attended thismeeting. Harada Masaharu, whose youngerbrother was killed twenty years ago, traveledfrom Aichi Prefecture to participate. Mr.Harada told the audience that after he visitedhis brother's assailant in prison and received apersonal apology from him, he felt "somethingwas healing in me." Mr. Harada then requestedthat the Ministry of Justice suspend thisexecution because he wished to continuemeeting with his brother's murderer. However,several months after his request, this death-row

inmate was executed anyway. Mr. Harada said,"I have felt no comfort in his execution. I wishpeople would also value the rights of thevictims' families to resolve their feeling bytalking with the assailants." At this meeting, Ilearned that victims' families also have suchfeelings, besides those of retributivepunishment.

Lately, the movement to abolish the deathpenalty has spread to many Asian countries.Some leaders, such as those from South Koreaand Taiwan, traveled from abroad to attend thismeeting and share the situations in theircountries. According to them, since the start ofKim Dae Jung's administration in 1998, therehave been no executions in South Korea.Furthermore in 2001, a proposal to completelyabolish the death penalty was introduced to theDiet, and is currently under consideration tobecome national law. In Taiwan, in May of 2003the government proposed a set of "BasicHuman Rights" which included abolishing thedeath penalty. This proposal is going to besubmitted to the legislature in the very nearfuture.

At this meeting we also learned of various localmovements in Japan. We also saw pictures ofthe execution grounds at Tokyo Prison, andwatched a video of a death sentence beingcarried out in Osaka Prison. I learned muchfrom this six-hour conference.

I was, however, very disappointed the followingday. Only the Asahi Newspaper reported on themeeting. Even the Asahi, however, treated thisas rather trivial news (only some forty lines anda secondary headline). Various people in themass media said that the reason for this quiettreatment was to protect the right to privacyfor victims but I think that this also ignores theright of the public to be informed about thedeath penalty.

Many people are being led astray -- thinkingthat having a feeling of retributive punishment

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is justified -- without knowing the actual factsand issues concerning the death penalty. Ithink one of the reasons why Japan is farbehind the rest of the world in abolishing thedeath penalty is because of the way the mediaspins the news.

This article appeared in Shukan Kinyobi,December 12, 2003. It was translated for JapanFocus by Nobuko Adachi.

Yamaguchi Masanori is the Supervisor, LiaisonCommittee on Human Rights and the Conductof the Mass Media and a Yomiuri Newspaperreporter.

Nobuko Adachi is a visiting assistant professorof Anthropology at Illinois State University andco-editor of Pan-Japan: The InternationalJournal of the Japanese Diaspora. Her researchinterests and publications include Japaneseimmigration, linguistics, ethnohistory, ethnicidentity, transnationalism, and cultural andhuman globalization.