Death row inmate Iwao Hakamada (L), flanked by his sister Hideko, was released from Tokyo Detention House after serving more than 30 years. Hakamada is one of only five prisoners released from Japan’s death row since 1945. “The trend toward abolition worldwide is irreversible,” says Raphael Chenuil-Hazan, who leads Together Against the Death Penalty, a French lobby group. Once the justice minister signs an execution order, condemned inmates have minutes to get their affairs in order before dying. “It is meant to show the public the importance of the death penalty in Japan.”

Source: The Irish Times November 06, 2025 14:54 UTC