Capital Punishment in Japan

The death penalty is only handed out for murder and treason however it's rarely handed out for a single murder. Most people in Japan support the death penalty but the amount of executions per year are low, especially when comparing it to the U.S. Just to give you an idea of how many people have been executed in the last five years:

2004-two

2005-one

2006-four

2007-nine

2008-eleven

2009- four, so far

In the U.S. three people are scheduled for execution in the month of April.

Death row can't be a desired place in any country and Japan is no exception. They're kept in detentions centers and there are seven of them in Japan. The inmates are not considered prisoners by the  Japanese justice system since they are awaiting death and therefore they cannot be held in prisons, hence the detention centers. They are treated much harsher than prisoners. They are kept in solitary confinement and are only allowed out for exercise twice a week. They are rarely, if at all, allowed visitors and are not permitted to read books, watch television or talk to their fellow inmates. The length of time an average inmate is on death row is five to seven years, a quarter of the inmates have been on death row for over ten years and some for over thirty.

The executions are carried out by hanging. But you never know your date of execution, it's kept a secret till the morning of your execution. You wake up everyday not knowing if this is your last day on earth. That alone is part of your punishment. Can you imagine the torture of waking up everyday of your miserable life and not knowing if you'll see tomorrow? Then again, life is so bad on death row maybe they don't care about dying, I wouldn't. They tell you in the morning and before lunch you are allowed to pick your last meal. They inform your legal representatives and family members after you have been executed. 

As for as the execution goes, in order for the guards carrying out the execution to have a clean conscience, at the same time two of them push a button that releases the floor beneath the inmate. Therefore neither knows who actually carried it out easing any guilt. It seems like Japan scares the shit out its citizens from committing crimes and it seems to be one reason why crime is so low. I feel safer in Japan than I do in the states but I'd much rather go to prison in the states than in Japan.