DEATH ROW

Japan's Secretive Death Row Executions

For Japanese death row executioners it’s like a firing squad – at least one of which will have a blank cartridge instead of a live round.

A History of Hanging

In Japan, death row inmates are executed by hanging. The death penalty is reserved for the most serious crimes, such as murder, and is carried out only after all appeals have been exhausted.

Executions are not announced in advance, and the names of those who have been executed are not made public. The number of people on death row in Japan is relatively small compared to other countries, and the country has one of the lowest crime rates in the world.

The use of the death penalty in Japan has been controversial, with some arguing that it is a necessary tool for maintaining public safety, and others arguing that it is inhumane and should be abolished.

The Buddhist goddess of mercy Kannon is sculpted on the approach to the execution chamber. She’ll be the last face a condemned prisoner sees. Blindfolded, they enter the hangman’s chamber.

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Doomsday Cult Leader Hanged

Shinrikyo cult founder Shoko Asahara was arrested on suspicion of murder with his followers on May 16, 1995.

Shoko Asahara was the leader of the Japanese doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo, which was responsible for the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system.

The attack killed 13 people and injured over 6,000. Asahara was arrested and sentenced to death for his role in the attack. He was executed by hanging in 2018.

Aum Shinrikyo, which was designated as a terrorist organization by the Japanese government, believed that the end of the world was imminent and that the sarin attack would help to bring about the cult’s apocalyptic vision.

The group was also responsible for several other murders and attempted murders.

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Brutal Efficiency

In Japan, the final days of death row inmates are typically characterized by strict isolation and intense psychological pressure. Death row inmates are held in solitary confinement and are not allowed to have any contact with the outside world.

They are not informed of the exact date of their execution until the day before it is scheduled to take place. On the day of the execution, they are given the opportunity to make a final statement and are allowed to have a last meal.

After this, they are transferred to the execution chamber, where they are given the opportunity to pray before being executed by hanging.

The execution is carried out in secret, and the inmate’s family is not informed until after it has taken place. The body is then cremated and the ashes are given to the family.

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japan death row — Guards stand in the next room and press three buttons to make the trapdoor open ( Image: AFP)

japen death row — None of the men will know who actually carried out the execution ( Image: AFP)

It is difficult to say who Japan’s most infamous death row inmate is, as the country has a relatively low crime rate and there have been relatively few high-profile death row cases. However, some well-known figures who have been sentenced to death in Japan include:

Tsutomu Miyazaki, known as the “Otaku Murderer,” who was convicted of the abduction, sexual assault, and murder of four young girls in the late 1980s.
Norio Nagayama, a convicted murderer and author who wrote extensively about his experiences on death row and was eventually executed in 1997.
Kazuhiko Otake, a former member of the Aum Shinrikyo cult who was sentenced to death for his role in the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system.