Japanese Moratorium on the Death Penalty

Offering a timely reanalysis of the issue of Japan's capital punishment policy, this cutting edge volume considers the de facto moratorium periods in Japan's death penalty system and proposes an alternative analytical framework to examine the policy. Addressing how the Ministry of Justice in Japan justified capital punishment policy during the de facto moratorium periods from 1989 to 1993, from 2009 to 2010 and from 2010 to 2012, the author debates the misconceptions surrounding the significance of these moratoriums.

The book evidences the approach, rationale and evolution of Japan's Ministry of Justice in consistently justifying capital punishment policy during the different execution-free periods and provides a better understanding of the powerful unelected elite who actually drive the capital punishment system in Japan. Based on parliamentary proceedings, public opinion surveys and periodical reports by both international and domestic human rightsNGOs as well as interviews of government ministers, NGO staff, pro- and anti-death-penalty advocates, this text is key reading for those interested in Japan, its government, criminal justice system and policies on the death penalty and human rights.

Offers a systematic study of the de facto moratorium periods in Japan's capital punishment policy Proposes an alternative analytical framework to examine the policy. Investigates the social and political background of the case study period comprehensively in order to gain better understanding of how the Ministry of Justice had been justifying the capital punishment system, citing domestic factors.

Autorentext
Dr Mika Obara-Minnitt is Research Fellow at the Institute of Asian Cultural Studies, International Christian University, Japan. She is the co-author of The International Library of Essays on Capital Punishment, Volume II: Policy and Governance, and has taught international relations and political analysis at Loughborough University, UK.

Klappentext

Offering a timely reanalysis of the issue of Japan s capital punishment policy, this cutting edge volume considers the de facto moratorium periods in Japan s death penalty system and proposes an alternative analytical framework to examine the policy. Addressing how the Ministry of Justice in Japan justified capital punishment policy during the de facto moratorium periods from 1989 to 1993, from 2009 to 2010 and from 2010 to 2012, the author debates the misconceptions surrounding the significance of these moratoriums. The book evidences the approach, rationale and evolution of Japan s Ministry of Justice in consistently justifying capital punishment policy during the different execution-free periods and provides a better understanding of the powerful unelected elite who actually drive the capital punishment system in Japan. Based on parliamentary proceedings, public opinion surveys and periodical reports by both international and domestic human rightsNGOs as well as interviews of government ministers, NGO staff, pro- and anti-death-penalty advocates, this text is key reading for those interested in Japan, its government, criminal justice system and policies on the death penalty and human rights.

Inhalt
Introduction.- The Two Sided Triangle: Capital Punishment Policy Decision Making - A Framework for Analysis.- Governmental Justification for Capital Punishment and the de facto Moratorium Periods Reconsidered.- An Honourable Death?: Governmental Justification for Capital Punishment from 1980 to 1989.- Conscience or Chaos?: Governmental Justification for Capital Punishment during the de facto Moratorium Period (1989 to 1993).-By Popular Demand: Governmental Justification for Capital Punishment from 1993 to 2009.-Democracy Inaction: Governmental Justification for Capital Punishment during the de facto Moratorium Periods (2009 to 2010 and 2010 to 2012).-Conclusions:New Light in Old Rooms - Governmental Justification for Capital Punishment in Japan Reconsidered.**