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| Saul Lehrfreund, co-founder of the Death Penalty Project (Kazuo Yamamoto) |
A British-based NGO has taken issue with the Japanese government's contention that 85 percent of the population support the death penalty.
The Death Penalty Project, a human rights group seeking to abolish capital punishment around the world, released a report March 12 of its own findings on the issue.
It said only 44 percent of Japanese are strongly in favor of the death penalty. Executions are carried out by hanging in Japan.
The DPP conducted an online survey of 20,769 Japanese men and women between 2008 and 2010.
The respondents were aged 20 to 49 and chosen at random. Their names were registered on a database of a Japanese research company commissioned by the group.
According to the survey, 44 percent of respondents said the death penalty "should definitely be kept" and 35 percent said it "should probably be kept."
One percent of the respondents said death penalty "should definitely be abolished" and 3 percent said it "should probably be abolished."
An opinion poll carried out by the Japanese government in 2009 found a support rate of 85.6 percent for the death penalty. The survey covered 3,000 men and women aged 20 or older and received about 2,000 responses.
The high support rate has often been cited by justice ministers and other officials.
"From the viewpoint of public sentiment, the death penalty is supported," said Justice Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki, who authorized three executions in February.
They were the first hangings carried out since the administration led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was formed in December.
But the report by the Death Penalty Project said the questions in the government survey are biased.
The government survey asks respondents to choose from among three options: "The death penalty should be abolished under all circumstances," "The death penalty is unavoidable in some cases" and "I don’t know/ Difficult to say."
The report said those who chose the second alternative include people who support the death penalty only passively.
Lawyer Saul Lehrfreund, one of the founders of the Death Penalty Project, said the results of surveys would be different if Japanese citizens were fully apprised of the capital punishment issue.
Executions in Japan are carried out in great secrecy.
The DPP was set up in 1992 and is partly funded by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the equivalent of a foreign ministry.
Britain abolished the death penalty years ago.
By TAKAAKI NISHIYAMA/ Staff Writer
The Death Penalty Project, a human rights group seeking to abolish capital punishment around the world, released a report March 12 of its own findings on the issue.
It said only 44 percent of Japanese are strongly in favor of the death penalty. Executions are carried out by hanging in Japan.
The DPP conducted an online survey of 20,769 Japanese men and women between 2008 and 2010.
The respondents were aged 20 to 49 and chosen at random. Their names were registered on a database of a Japanese research company commissioned by the group.
According to the survey, 44 percent of respondents said the death penalty "should definitely be kept" and 35 percent said it "should probably be kept."
One percent of the respondents said death penalty "should definitely be abolished" and 3 percent said it "should probably be abolished."
An opinion poll carried out by the Japanese government in 2009 found a support rate of 85.6 percent for the death penalty. The survey covered 3,000 men and women aged 20 or older and received about 2,000 responses.
The high support rate has often been cited by justice ministers and other officials.
"From the viewpoint of public sentiment, the death penalty is supported," said Justice Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki, who authorized three executions in February.
They were the first hangings carried out since the administration led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was formed in December.
But the report by the Death Penalty Project said the questions in the government survey are biased.
The government survey asks respondents to choose from among three options: "The death penalty should be abolished under all circumstances," "The death penalty is unavoidable in some cases" and "I don’t know/ Difficult to say."
The report said those who chose the second alternative include people who support the death penalty only passively.
Lawyer Saul Lehrfreund, one of the founders of the Death Penalty Project, said the results of surveys would be different if Japanese citizens were fully apprised of the capital punishment issue.
Executions in Japan are carried out in great secrecy.
The DPP was set up in 1992 and is partly funded by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the equivalent of a foreign ministry.
Britain abolished the death penalty years ago.
By TAKAAKI NISHIYAMA/ Staff Writer
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