Japan death row inmates near 100 amid crime fears

TOKYO, Feb 7: Death row inmate Yoshio Fujinami had hoped his execution would be the last carried out in Japan.

''If the death penalty is carried out as retribution, the path to rehabilitation will be closed after one mistake,'' wrote Fujinami, convicted of killing relatives of his ex-wife in 1981.

On Christmas Day, the 75-year-old Fujinami and three other convicted killers were hanged.

With nearly 100 inmates now on death row -- almost twice the figure of a decade ago -- and courts imposing a growing number of death sentences, his final wish seems unlikely to be fulfilled.

A public perception that violence is rising, an increasingly vocal victims' rights movement and intense media coverage of horrific crimes are pushing courts to hand down stiffer penalties -- including more death sentences, experts and activists say.

''I think people are being swept away by an emotional feeling of revenge,'' lawmaker Shizuka Kamei, who heads a group of parliamentarians opposed to the death penalty, told Reuters.

The mood contrasts with the European Union, where the death penalty is banned and calls for a global moratorium mounted after footage surfaced showing Saddam Hussein being taunted moments before he was hanged.

In the United States, which along with Japan is one of the few advanced democracies to execute criminals, death sentences fell to a 30-year low in 2006 and capital punishment is now under what appears to be an unprecedented review amid eroding support.

Yet in Japan, where executions are shrouded in secrecy, debate on the death penalty is muted.

''Japan probably has the most secretive administration of capital punishment in the world,'' said David Johnson, a sociology professor at the University of Hawaii. ''One effect is to make it less salient in the public consciousness.'' Neither inmates nor their families are given advance warning of executions. Only prison officials and a priest are present, and the Justice Ministry announces hangings only after they have taken place. No details are released by authorities, although human rights activists publish names obtained from relatives.

Activists published Fujinami's letter after he was hanged.

DEATH ROW The silence surrounding executions contrasts sharply with media coverage of crimes, which has intensified in recent years along with growing public angst about deteriorating safety. Such fears grew after doomsday cult Aum's Shinri Kyo's 1995 gas attack on Tokyo subways.

The attack killed 12, made thousands ill and shattered Japan's self-image as one of the world's safest societies. Aum guru Shoko Asahara, whose real name is Chizuo Matsumoto, is now among the prisoners awaiting execution.

The Justice Ministry said there were 94 death row inmates as of December 31, 2006 compared to 51 a decade ago. Activists said on Wednesday that the number had risen to 99.

US executions per capita are far more numerous, largely because of Japan's low rate of murder -- in practice the only crime to receive the death penalty.

But the statistical probability of a convicted murderer being sentenced to death in Japan between 2000-2003 was about the same as in the pro-death penalty US state of Texas, Johnson said.

Last year, Japanese courts sentenced 44 people to death, the largest number since at least 1980, Japanese media reported.

VICTIMS' RIGHTS

Intense media coverage of high-profile crimes -- such as a recent murder case in which parts of a corpse were found scattered around Tokyo -- gives many Japanese the impression that public safety is deteriorating.

Crimes reported to the police hit a record high in 2002, but some experts argue the rise was due mostly to changes in police reporting methods, rather than a jump in actual crime.

Official data also shows that the number of murders and attempted murders has held steady for decades, while total reported crime has now declined for three years running.

''People have the impression that violent crime in particular is increasing,'' said lawyer Yoshihiro Yasuda, an anti-death penalty activist. ''They have become ill at ease and so want to see tougher sentences, and courts synchronise with that trend.'' Growing concern for the rights of crime victims and their families has also contributed to tougher punishment of criminals.

''The government and politicians as well as the media took up the issue of victims' rights and this became one driving force for tougher penalties,'' said former Justice Ministry official Koichi Hamai, adding that prosecutors and judges, responding to public sentiment, also played a role.

Proposals last month to give victims or their relatives the chance to question defendants and witnesses, give closing arguments and state their own ideas on sentencing have raised concerns that a desire for revenge may tamper with justice.

With the media spotlight firmly on crime and executions taking place in the shadows, the death penalty debate in Japan seems unlikely to heat up.

''The biggest problem is that information is controlled so there can be no debate. It is hidden behind a veil,'' explained Yasuda, the anti-death penalty activist.

REUTERS