2009 Execution and Death Penalty Statistics
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Executions = 4
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Death Sentences
Supreme Court = 16
High Courts = 7
District Courts = 9
Total = 32
Hangman Cheated:
Demands for death denied: 5
Constitution Violated
Life Imprisonment Overturned and
Death Sentence Issued: = 2
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Crime Stats: 2009
January 15, 2009
Murder Cases Down
Thefts remain high.
Police across Japan logged 1,097 murder, attempted murder and murder preparation cases in Japan last year, down 200 from the previous year and marking the fewest on record in the post-World War II era, the National Police Agency said in a preliminary report Friday. The number of murder, attempted murder and murder preparation cases, recognized by the police after reports or complaints by victims or others, dropped to a third in a little more than a half century since the figure was the largest ever in 1954 at 3,081.
The number of all criminal cases in Japan was about 1.7 million last year, down 6.3% from the previous year and posting the seventh decline in a row, according to the agency. Of all the criminal cases, the rate of those cases where police made arrests or questioned suspects was 32%, up 0.5 percentage point.
About three-fourths of the criminal cases were thefts, numbering nearly 1.3 million, down 5.3% from the previous year. But the number of robbery cases increased, totaling 4,514.
Murder and Crime Rates in Japan
Year | Murders | Total Crimes |
| 2008( | 平成20）1300 | |
| 2007( | 平成19）1199 | |
| 2006( | 平成18）||
| 2005( | 平成17）1458 | 1,725,072 |
| 2004( | 平成16）1508 | 1,981,574 |
| 2003( | 平成15）1530 | 2,235,844 |
| 2002( | 平成14）1489 | 2,377,488 |
| 2001( | 平成13）1436 | 2,340,511 |
Crimes are usually referred to as "Violations of the Criminal Code Violations" in police statistics.
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'Innocent rate' at 1st trial hits decade-high 2.9% in 2007
2008/06/03
TOKYO
The Supreme Court said Monday that 2.9% of defendants who denied criminal charges were found innocent at their initial trails in 2007, marking the highest level in a decade. Other data by the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office indicated that more district courts have declined to accept depositions, which show defendants’ confessions, as evidence. In several cases, whether the confessions were voluntary or credible was the focus of dispute.
The circumstances suggest district courts are assessing evidence more strictly prior to the introduction of a lay judge system next year. The so-called ‘‘innocent rate’’ at the initial trial was up from 2.6% in 2006 after hovering above 2% since 2003, according to the top court’s Criminal Affairs Bureau. District courts handed down rulings on 69,238 defendants last year, of whom 4,984 denied the charges against them. Of the 4,984, 97 were found fully innocent and 48 partially innocent.