Japan

Japan: Stop the execution of mentally ill prisoners - 10 September 2009

The government of Japan’s continued practice of executing prisoners with mental illness is inhuman and must come to an end, Amnesty International said today with the publication of a new report on the treatment of the mentally ill sentenced to death in Japan.

In the report, Hanging by a thread: mental health and the death penalty in Japan, Amnesty International condemned Japan’s practice of executing mentally ill prisoners which contravenes the international standards requiring those with a serious mental illness be protected from the death penalty, that Japan has signed up to.

One hundred and two people are currently on death row in Japan waiting to find out if or when they will be put to death. For those who have completed the legal process, they are forced to await execution every day, facing a sentence that could be enforced at only a few hours notice. Each day could be their last and the arrival of a prison officer with a death warrant would signal their execution within hours. Some live like this year after year, sometimes for decades.

Japan continues to execute mentally ill prisoners - 10 September 2009

The government of Japan continues to execute prisoners who are mentally ill, according to a new Amnesty International report.

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The number of executions increased. Prisoners continued to face prolonged periods of solitary confinement and inadequate access to medical care.

Pressure mounts as time is running out for justice for 'Comfort Women' - 14 August 2009
Women who faced abuse and sexual slavery at the hand of the Japanese Imperial army during the Second World War, have now been waiting 64 years for an official apology and adequate reparations.

Japan commits to ending impunity for enforced disappearances - 28 July 2009
Japan has become the first country in Asia to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

G-20 must set the example and clean up their human rights record - 28 May 2009
Amnesty International’s Secretary General has called on the G-20 grouping that brings together the world’s leading economies to lead by example and show

Calls for Government of Japan to respond to resolutions calling for justice - 13 December 2008
One year on from European Union resolution, calls continue for Japanese Government formally to acknowledge, apologise, and accept responsibility for its Imperial Armed

Taiwan and South Korea call for 'comfort women' apology - 18 November 2008
The Government of Japan must accept historical responsibility and apologise to the victims of Japan’s military sexual slavery system.

Japan urged to restore dignity to WWII "comfort women" - 3 November 2008
The UN Human Rights Committee has called on the Government of the Japan to restore dignity to the survivors of Japan’s military sexual slavery system.

Two men hanged in Japan - 29 October 2008
The executions of Michitoshi Kuma and Masahiro Takashio were the first approved by Minister of Justice Mori Eisuke since he took office in September.

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