The country of the rising sun is known for its color and commitment to traditions, which so far has not prevented it from acting as one of the advanced states. This causes many to be interested in the question of whether there is a death penalty in Japan, because many have already abandoned such capital punishment, successfully replacing it with a life sentence. But not the Land of the Rising Sun.
Guilty must be punished
Perhaps this type of punishment is still practiced in Japan due to its centuries-old traditions, because the guilty person in this country has long had to pay with his life. Earlier, such an outcome was facilitated by customs, saying that any shame can be washed away only with blood, but unlike our time, in the era of the samurai death could be noble.
In this case, the condemned had the right to seppuku (ritual suicide by tearing up the abdomen with subsequent decapitation), after which he could be buried with all honors. However, with the advent of the Meiji era and the ban on the free use of weapons, tradition has become obsolete. The death penalty in Japan through seppuku was no longer practiced, while other methods, on the contrary, denigrated the condemned, so this punishment was no longer noble.
Justice
The average sentence of a sentenced person before execution is about 6 years. This time is allotted for a thorough investigation of what happened, search for evidence and clarification of all the subtleties of the crime in order to exclude the likelihood of an error. The murder of an innocent is the worst thing that authorities can admit, therefore, in the Land of the Rising Sun, they take all the circumstances of the incident very seriously.
But mistakes are rarely made. The death penalty in Japan was abolished only 4 times over the entire period of its existence as an official measure of punishment. Moreover, the last known case of removal of guilt from a convict occurred about 60 years ago.
Deserved punishment
To the credit of the Japanese government, it is worth saying that such a supreme measure is contained in only 11 articles of the Criminal Code. And only in 5 of them there is no other punishment in the absence of aggravating circumstances. Thus, such a harsh sentence is more often passed to terrorists and maniacs, on whose hands a lot of blood, less often - to military traitors (Article 82).
The kind of capital punishment in Japan is applied to criminals, causing great indignation from other civilized countries, however, this measure of punishment is supported not only by the government, but also by 86 percent of the inhabitants themselves.
Prisoners
This aspect of the life of the condemned is the most unenviable and, perhaps, more frightening than the execution itself. All the while the suicide bomber is in custody, he is in a solitary confinement measuring only 2X5 meters. There are no windows facing the street, and the light is constantly on, facilitating the process of constant monitoring of the prisoner. Of the entertainment, only chess is allowed, since a suicide bomber can play it alone.
Those who were not lucky enough to receive a sentence such as the death penalty, in Japan there is no longer a place as a member of society, so no visits to relatives are provided for prisoners. Moreover, the prisoner's family is informed that the sentence has come into force after its execution.
The suicide bomber’s diet is rather scarce - only 1,500 calories a day, so many of the prisoners earn extra money to buy additional food. Usually they are gluing cardboard boxes or assembling simple parts, which is encouraged by prison authorities.
The death penalty in Japan
How is the execution of the sentence? It's simple - the prisoner is executed by hanging in a special room. The suicide bomber finds out about the upcoming half an hour or a day, depending on the stability of the mental state, which often suffers due to the constant expectation of his fate.
Documents on bringing the verdict into force are confirmed by the Japanese authorities and the emperor personally, they can also extend the standard term for additional investigation. Because of this, many prisoners can languish in ignorance for decades (for statistics - only 49 out of 112 sentences are executed).
The death penalty in Japan (photo below) is carried out in a separate cell with a sunroof mounted on the floor and a hook on the ceiling for attaching the rope. In the next room are three remotes, one of which drives the mechanism. The execution is carried out by three security guards who simultaneously press the buttons, but not one of them knows who actually turned out to be the executioner. This is done for humane reasons, in order to avoid remorse and pangs of guilt.
Before death, the prisoner has the right to confess. If his religion is Buddhism or Shintoism, then a priest is invited to the prisoner for these purposes. The Christian suicide bomber is worse off: all he can do is pray in front of a wooden cross.
After pressing the button, the hatch under the sentenced opens. This happens quite sharply, so many of the suicide bombers do not die of asphyxiation - the cervical vertebrae do not support body weight. Executioners receive a bonus of about $ 300 for work done.
Relatives have the right to take the body of the executed to bury him as they see fit.
The effectiveness of the Japanese justice system
The way executions take place in the Land of the Rising Sun has not been a secret for quite some time, along with disgusting conditions of detention. Against their background, it is difficult to say how humane the chosen method of executing punishment is, since for many prisoners death seems to be a deliverance from such a miserable existence.
But the effectiveness of this approach is difficult to challenge. Over the past years, the crime rate in Japan has dropped below the plinth and continues to strive down, since few would like to deserve such a fate. And it is very difficult to get around it if a crime is committed, because a Japanese court passes 99.8% of convictions, which is why it is virtually impossible to leave the courtroom.