And people complain about America's death penalty? Seems like the Japanese system has some kinks of its own:

Like those who had gone before, they were only told they were to hang on the morning of their execution. There was perhaps time to write a letter, or tidy their belongings. And then the gallows.
Their executions registered little more than a passing mention in the Japanese media but that was, after all, what the Justice Ministry had apparently intended.
The date of their executions was September 18, the day after North Korea's Kim Jong Il admitted his agents had kidnapped 13 Japanese nationals, eight of whom were dead.
Normally, executions are carried out on a Friday, in the knowledge there will be little media coverage at the weekend. But the saturation reporting of the kidnappings on this particular Wednesday apparently made it too good an opportunity to miss.
"It was quite unlikely the government would be criticised in the media," said the Secretary-General of Amnesty International in Japan, Makoto Teranaka. And that was what happened. Another two executions in Japan, with little debate or coverage.

Japanese legal associations are trying to get people angry about the secrecy of the Japanese capital punishment process. Naturally the government will have none of it:

The Japanese Government justifies the death penalty on opinion polls that show strong public support, and its deterrent ability.

Of course if the death penalty is such a successful deterrent, why are there 50 people on death row in Japan?

posted by James Russell | 2:37 PM