Osaka Court Dismisses Request to Ban Executions by Hanging

Osaka, Jan. 16 (Jiji Press)–Osaka District Court on Friday dismissed a request from three death-row inmates for the state to ban executions by hanging. The three, whose death sentences have been finalized, claimed that executions by hanging are against an international treaty that prohibits cruel punishments. Noting that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by the Japanese government, prohibits inhumane and cruel punishments, the plaintiff side claimed that executions by hanging are “cruel and should not be allowed to continue.” Presiding Judge Noriko Yokota rejected the claim, saying that fighting over the method of execution through administrative litigation is inappropriate. In her ruling, the judge said that criminal judgments in the country presuppose executions by hanging. Granting the ban can be contradictory to finalized criminal judgments, Yokota added. Furthermore, the judge said she found no grounds to depart from the 1955 Supreme Court ruling that did not recognize the cruelty of hanging. In a press conference Friday, the plaintiffs’ attorney criticized the ruling for failing to address the substance of the issue, saying, “This is the worst possible judgment.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]