Abolishing death penalty will be ‘inappropriate’, says Japan’s new justice minister

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA(AA) - Japan’s newly appointed justice minister on Wednesday defended the country’s death penalty law, saying that abolishing capital punishment would be "inappropriate" as the public largely considers it "unavoidable for heinous crimes."

Addressing a press conference, Hideki Makihara, who has recently been picked as justice minister by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, said that “since taking a human life is an extremely serious matter, it should be approached with utmost care,” Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported.

His remarks follow last week’s acquittal of Iwao Hakamata, 88, the world’s longest-serving death row prisoner, who had been sentenced to death in 1968 for murdering a family.

Hakamata’s acquittal after nearly five decades brought global scrutiny to Japan’s criminal justice system and fueled calls to abolish capital punishment in the country.

Amid heightened interest in the retrial, Makihara stressed that "careful and thorough consideration from various perspectives is necessary."

Retrials are uncommon in Japan, where 99% of cases result in convictions.

There have been no executions in Japan over two years.

The minister also took a cautious stance on the issue of allowing married couples to use different surnames, a contentious issue during the recent Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, warning that progress should not be forced amid divided public opinion.