死刑：３人に執行　１年８カ月ぶり

小川敏夫法相＝田村彰子撮影
　法務省は２９日、東京・広島・福岡の３拘置所で３人の死刑を執行したと発表した。小川敏夫法相による初の執行命令で、民主党政権での執行は１０年７月の千葉景子法相（当時）下での執行に続いて１年８カ月ぶり２度目。昨年は１９年ぶりの「未執行年」となったが、今年は執行が再開された。
　◇下関通り魔事件など３人に
　執行されたのは、古沢友幸（４６）▽上部康明（４８）▽松田康敏（４４）の各死刑囚。
　確定判決などによると、古沢死刑囚は０２年７月、離婚を決意して実家に戻っていた当時の妻の拉致を計画。横浜市の実家に侵入し、義父母、妻と前夫の間の長男の３人を刺殺するなどした。
　上部死刑囚は９９年９月、通行人を無差別に殺害する「通り魔」を計画、レンタカーで山口県下関市のＪＲ下関駅コンコースに突っ込み、７人を次々にはねた。さらに車を降りて階段やホームにいた８人を包丁で襲い、計５人を殺害した。
　松田死刑囚は０１年１１～１２月、生活費や遊興費欲しさに宮崎県内の民家に侵入し、女性２人を殺害し、現金やバッグを奪った。
　同省刑事局によると、２８日現在の死刑囚は１３５人だったが、今回の執行で１３２人となった。昨年末時点での１３０人は、年末時点での戦後最多を記録している。
　民主党政権で初代の法相になった千葉氏は２人の死刑執行を命じた後の１０年８月、死刑制度について検討する省内勉強会を設置し、「国民的議論の材料としたい」として報道陣に初めて東京拘置所の刑場を公開した。
　千葉氏の後は柳田稔、仙谷由人、江田五月、平岡秀夫の４氏が法相を務めたが、在任期間が短かったり、死刑執行に慎重な姿勢をみせるなどして、執行命令を出さなかった。
　これに対し、小川法相は１月１３日の就任記者会見で「法律で定められた法相の職責なので、大変つらい職務だが、その職責をしっかりと果たしていきたい」と執行に前向きな姿勢を示していた。また、千葉氏以来続いてきた勉強会を「議論は尽くされている」として終結させ、今月９日に死刑存続・廃止の両論の根拠などをまとめた報告書を発表していた。【伊藤一郎】
　◇国内では死刑存続論大勢
　国の世論調査の結果をみると、死刑制度に対する国民の意識は「存置すべきだ」が「廃止すべきだ」を圧倒している。内閣府が０９年に実施した「基本的法制度に関する世論調査」によると、「場合によっては死刑もやむを得ない」が８５．６％を占めた。これに対し、「どんな場合でも死刑は廃止すべきだ」は５．７％にとどまった。
　「やむを得ない」と答えた人の理由（複数回答可）については、「死刑を廃止すれば、被害を受けた人や家族の気持ちがおさまらない」（５４．１％）▽「凶悪な犯罪は命をもって償うべきだ」（５３．２％）▽「死刑を廃止すれば、凶悪な犯罪が増える」（５１．５％）－－の順に高かった。
　これに対し「廃止すべきだ」と答えた人の理由は、「生かして罪の償いをさせた方がよい」（５５．９％）▽「裁判に誤りがあったとき、死刑にしてしまうと取り返しがつかない」（４３．２％）といった意見が多かった。
　一方、世界的潮流は死刑廃止の方向だ。国際人権団体「アムネスティ・インターナショナル」が今月２７日に公表した調査結果によると、昨年に死刑を執行した国は国連加盟国など１９８カ国のうち２０カ国にとどまる。死刑を維持している国は５７、１０年以上死刑を執行していないケースも含めた廃止国は１４１カ国に上る。
　国連は一昨年の総会で、死刑の適用の停止に関する３度目の決議を採択。全加盟国に、死刑廃止を視野に入れて執行を停止することを求めた。【伊藤一郎】
　◇解説　早急に国民的議論の場を
　民主党政権下で２度目の死刑が執行された。死刑制度を巡っては、国民の根強い「存置」支持がある一方で、国際的な「廃止」の流れがある。裁判員制度の導入で一般市民が死刑判決に関わることとなった今こそ、活発な議論の場を設ける必要がある。
　初めて死刑制度の是非が焦点となった裁判員裁判で大阪地裁は昨年１０月、死刑を合憲と判断した。弁護側は「絞首刑は残虐な刑を禁じた憲法に反する」と主張したが、判決は「死刑に処せられる者は多少の苦痛は甘受すべきだ」と退けた。
　しかし、裁判員は判決後の記者会見で「（死刑を合憲とした）最高裁判例は古い。執行方法は、国会などで再考してほしい」と発言。被害者遺族も「（死刑の憲法判断は）遺族にも裁判員にも余計な負担」と述べ、特定の事件での議論に疑問を投げかけた。
　日本弁護士連合会は昨年１２月、死刑廃止の全社会的議論を呼びかける「死刑廃止検討委員会」を設置。１月に第１回会合を開き、杉浦正健元法相が顧問に就任した。６月までに委員を１００人規模に増やし「全国的な議論を巻き起こしたい」（日弁連）としている。
　一方で、政府や国会の動きは鈍いと言わざるを得ない。法務省は今月９日、省内の死刑勉強会の取りまとめを公表したが、制度に対する賛否の意見を整理したにとどまっている。今後は本格的に「国民的議論」ができるよう、死刑囚の処遇や執行対象者の選定方法などの情報についても可能な限り、開示すべきではないか。【伊藤一郎】
毎日新聞　2012年3月29日　9時51分（最終更新　3月29日　14時05分）

Japan hangs 3 death row inmates in 1st executions in 20 months

(Mainichi Japan) March 29, 2012

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan hanged three death row inmates Thursday in the first executions in 20 months, by order of Justice Minister Toshio Ogawa, the minister said.


It is the second time executions have been performed under the government led by the Democratic Party of Japan, which came to power in September 2009. In July 2010, then Justice Minister Keiko Chiba ordered the hanging of two inmates.


The executions took place at detention houses in Tokyo, Hiroshima and Fukuoka. The three were Yasuaki Uwabe, 48, Tomoyuki Furusawa, 46, and Yasutoshi Matsuda, 44, according to the ministry.


Uwabe, a former transport worker, was convicted of killing five people and injuring 10 others in a 1999 rampage at JR Shimonoseki Station in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan.


Furusawa was found guilty of murdering the parents of his estranged wife and a stepson in 2002 in Yokohama, and Matsuda of robbing and killing two women in 2001 in Miyazaki Prefecture.


The death sentences for the three were finalized between 2007 and 2008.


Ogawa told a press conference, which lasted only 10 minutes, ''Punitive authority rests with the general public. The death penalty is also supported under the lay judge system, which is supposed to reflect public opinions.''


He said there was ''no special reason'' why the three inmates were chosen for execution and that the government will consider future executions of inmates individually. The minister signed the execution order on Tuesday, according to sources close to him.


The former legal professional who has worked as a judge, prosecutor and lawyer said after becoming justice minister in January that he would order the executions of death row inmates because capital punishment is ''backed by the Japanese people.''


Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura refrained from commenting on the latest executions, merely saying Ogawa's views represent the basic policy of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's Cabinet on the death penalty.


In 2010, Chiba in a rare move attended the executions at the Tokyo Detention House.


In order to stir public debate over the death penalty, Chiba also allowed the news media to visit the death chamber at the detention house one month later. Death chambers in Japan had previously been closed to the media. They remain closed to the public.


Chiba told reporters Thursday she cannot comment on the decision by the incumbent justice minister and expressed hope that a national debate on the death penalty will be held and more information on capital punishment will be disclosed.


After the latest executions, the number of death row inmates in Japan stands at 132, according to the ministry.


Japan is one of the few advanced countries to retain the death penalty. According to the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, 141 countries have abolished capital punishment by law or in practice, while 57 countries still maintain it.


A Japanese government survey showed in February 2010 that a record 85.6 percent of respondents said that continuing capital punishment is ''unavoidable.''


Noboru Nagafuji, 80, who was seriously injured by Uwabe in the 1999 random attack in Shimonoseki, said the execution of the attacker was ''long delayed but a matter of course,'' adding that he still suffers from wounds.


A daughter in her 50s of Kazuyuki Eto, 79, who was killed by Uwabe, said she ''never sought the death sentence'' for the culprit, but believes it is ''natural'' that a person who killed others will be executed. ''Even though my father will not come back, the execution would help me get past'' the loss of her family, she said.


Those critical of capital punishment rapped the government over Thursday's executions.


Kenji Utsunomiya, president of the lawyers' federation, said the executions were ''very regrettable'' and that he ''strongly protests'' against them.


''The resumption of executions could stifle a social debate on whether to abolish capital punishment. The government should suspend executions, disclose more information and stir a national discussion on the death penalty,'' he said.


Amnesty International Japan also issued a protest to the Japanese government over the hangings of the three, saying it ''represents the state intention to stick to executions.''


The group said capital punishment ''violates the right (of death row inmates) to live'' and that the Japanese law justifying the death sentence should be amended if it runs counter to international human rights standards.


Koichi Kikuta, professor emeritus of criminology at Meiji University, said he doubts Ogawa had enough time since becoming minister to examine the records of death row inmates and that the minister ''made a big mistake.'' ''It is arrogant of him to believe he has carried out his duty as justice minister'' by ordering the executions, Kikuta said.


Takeshi Tsuchimoto, former prosecutor at the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office, said although he believes Japan should retain capital punishment, the government should disclose more information on the living conditions of inmates until they are executed.

1st executions in 20 months carried out / Ogawa orders deaths of 3 murderers

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The Justice Ministry announced Thursday that three death-row murder convicts were executed in the morning at the detention houses where they had been held in Tokyo, Hiroshima and Fukuoka, the first executions since two inmates were executed 20 months ago on July 28, 2010.


It was the second time for executions to be carried out under a government led by the Democratic Party of Japan and the first since Justice Minister Toshio Ogawa assumed the post in January.


They were conducted during a Diet session, also a rare move.


The latest executions leave the number of death-row inmates at 132.


After the government changeover in 2009 from the coalition led by the Liberal Democratic Party to the DPJ-led coalition, the number of executions drastically diminished. The 2011 figure was zero, the first time that had happened in 19 years.


At a press conference after Thursday's executions, Ogawa explained why he ordered them, saying: "Punitive power belongs to the people. In trials held under the lay judge system that was introduced to reflect their opinions, executions have been supported. I thought I should perform this duty even though some people oppose [capital punishment]."


The three death-row convicts were Yasuaki Uwabe, 48; Tomoyuki Furusawa, 46; and Yasutoshi Matsuda, 44. They were executed at the Tokyo, Hiroshima and Fukuoka detention houses, respectively.


Uwabe went on a homicidal rampage at JR Shimonoseki Station in Yamaguchi Prefecture in September 1999. He drove a rental car into the station building, hitting some people with the vehicle and attacking others with a knife. He killed five people and injured 10.


Furusawa sneaked into his wife's parents' condominium in Tsuzuki Ward, Yokohama, in July 2002 to abduct his wife, who wanted to divorce him. In addition to the kidnapping, he stabbed three people to death: his wife's father, 71; her mother, 63; and her 12-year-old son from a previous marriage.


Matsuda killed a 53-year-old female bar operator in November 2001 and an 82-year-old woman who operated a general store the next month, both in Miyazaki Prefecture. He also stole a total of about 650,000 yen from them.


===


A crisis of public trust in system


It is likely that Ogawa ordered the executions only three months after he assumed the justice minister's post due to a sense of danger that the people's trust in the nation's system of capital punishment might be lost if no executions were carried out for a period longer than 20 months.


The number of death-row convicts was 135 as of Wednesday. After the latest executions conducted under then Justice Minister Keiko Chiba in July 2010, the number hit its highest level since the end of World War II and continued increasing.


Although many death sentences have been given under the lay judge system, four justice ministers in the DPJ government did not order any executions.


Many Justice Ministry officials had been concerned that if no executions were carried out despite the lay judges' decisions as a result of their anguished deliberations, people would not be convinced of the seriousness of the system, a high-ranking ministry official said.


Chiba, who advocates abolishing the death penalty, allowed journalists to tour an execution site when she was justice minister.


Also, the Japan Federation of Bar Associations changed the name of a panel on capital punishment from "the committee to achieve suspension of executions" to "the committee to discuss the abolition of the death penalty."


With these moves amid a global trend toward abolishing capital punishment, some people say that discussions on eliminating the death penalty will be soon be fully under way in Japan.


However, Ogawa vowed to resume executions at his inaugural press conference in January, saying, "[It's] a very difficult duty, but I'll do it."


In March, he finished a ministerial study session to discuss the death penalty system, including the idea of its abolition, apparently to pave the way to the resumption of executions.


At Thursday's press conference, Ogawa mentioned support for the system in public opinion polls and the death sentences handed down under the lay judge system as two reasons for his order to the executions.


It seems his decision to conduct the executions within the current fiscal year, which ends Saturday, was intended to convince the public.

(Mar. 30, 2012)