Over 80% Japanese support death penalty

KARACHI, Pakistan

More than 80% Japanese support the death penalty, saying the existence of the system is "unavoidable," the latest government survey showed.

According to the last year's survey, the support for capital punishment edged up 2.3 percentage points to 83.1% compared to the previous survey in 2019, the proportion calling for its abolition rose a sharper 7.5 points to 16.5%, the Kyodo-based Kyodo News reported on Sunday.

It has been the fifth consecutive time that the support for the death penalty exceeded 80% in the government poll conducted every five years.

Among multiple answers, the most common reason for supporting the death penalty, chosen by 62.2%, was the concern for the feelings of victims of capital crimes and their families.

A total of 55.5% said violent crimes should be paid for with lives, while 53.4% cited concerns that the abolition of the capital punishment would lead to a rise in atrocious crimes.

Among those favoring the abolition, a record high 71% said that mistaken convictions become irreversible, with the figure rising by some 20 points from the previous survey.

The survey was conducted between October and December after an 88-year-old man was acquitted in a retrial last year over a 1966 quadruple murder case. The ruling on Iwao Hakamata, who spent more than four decades on death row, was finalized in October.

Meanwhile, 37.5% said the death penalty should be abolished if life imprisonment without parole is introduced, while 61.8% said it should still remain in place.

The survey was conducted on 3,000 people aged 18 and older.