More than 80% of Japanese Citizens Support Death Penalty: Survey

Synopsis

A recent survey indicates that over 80% of the Japanese populace supports the death penalty, citing its inevitability. Concerns for victims' families and public safety are the primary reasons behind this backing, according to local reports.

Key Takeaways

Over 80% support for capital punishment in Japan.
Concerns for victims' families drive this support.
Approval increased by 2.3 points since 2019.
71% of abolition supporters fear wrongful convictions.
Japan remains one of the few G7 countries to uphold the death penalty.

Tokyo, March 2 (NationPress) A recent government survey reveals that over 80 per cent of the Japanese population endorses the death penalty, with many asserting that the persistence of this system is unavoidable, as reported by local media on Sunday.

This survey, conducted every five years, has shown that for the fifth consecutive time, support for capital punishment has surpassed 80 per cent in government polling, according to the prominent news outlet, Kyodo News.

In the latest survey, approval for capital punishment rose by 2.3 points, achieving 83.1 per cent compared to the prior survey conducted in 2019. Concurrently, the proportion of individuals advocating for abolition increased by 7.5 points, reaching 16.5 per cent.

The primary justification for supporting the death penalty, cited by 66.2 per cent, was concern for the feelings of victims of capital crimes and their families.

Additionally, 55.5 per cent expressed that violent crimes should incur the ultimate penalty, while 53.4 per cent voiced worries that abolishing capital punishment could lead to a surge in heinous crimes.

Conversely, among those favoring the abolition of the death penalty, 71 per cent cited the potential for irreversible mistaken convictions as their main concern.

Moreover, many argued that the death penalty should be discarded if life imprisonment without parole is established, while others supporting the death penalty insisted it should remain.

The survey was conducted between October and December following the acquittal of Iwao Hakamada, an 88-year-old man, in a retrial in 2024 over a 1966 quadruple murder case after spending over four decades on death row, as reported by Kyodo News.

According to the Japanese Ministry of Justice, 77 individuals have been executed in Japan since 2007, with no executions taking place since July 2022.

Japan and the United States stand as the only G7 nations that continue to employ capital punishment. In Japan, public support for the death penalty remains robust, and discussions surrounding its abolition are infrequent.