Japan gov't not liable over 2018 execution of man seeking retrial
OSAKA (Kyodo) -- A Japanese court on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit calling on the central government to pay 16.5 million yen ($112,000) in damages over the 2018 execution of a death row inmate who had filed a retrial petition.
The Osaka District Court rejected a complaint submitted by three former attorneys of Keizo Okamoto, who was executed at age 60 for the 1988 robbery and murder of the president and an employee of an investment advisory company.
The plaintiffs argued Okamoto's execution infringed Article 32 of the Constitution stating, "No person shall be denied the right of access to the courts," which underlies Japan's retrial system as a safeguard against miscarriages of justice.
They also said the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights -- part of the International Bill of Human Rights -- guarantees, "Anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to seek pardon or commutation of the sentence."
The central government argued the execution was lawful under Article 442 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, under which a retrial request does not halt sentencing, and the covenant does not explicitly ban such action.
The complaint said the government should protect the activities of defense attorneys to the maximum extent possible as carrying out the death penalty when a request for a retrial has been submitted makes it impossible to save a client's life.
According to the final ruling, Okamoto was sentenced to death in 2004 for robbing the president and employee of 100 million yen and killing them in Osaka. After he was executed while his fourth retrial request was still under review, his former lawyers filed suit in 2020.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Nikkei Asia
4 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
Nippon Steel set to complete $14bn acquisition of U.S. Steel next week
SHOTARO TANI and NAOKI MATSUDA TOKYO -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday cancelled the decision by former President Joe Biden to block Nippon Steel's acquisition of U.S. Steel, paving the way for the Japanese company to finalize its takeover of its American counterpart. Nippon Steel is expected to complete the acquisition on Wednesday U.S. time, buying all U.S. Steel shares for $14.1 billion.
Yomiuri Shimbun
4 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Lithuanian President: More Defense Spending Needed; Nauseda Stresses Need for Greater Cooperation
The Yomiuri Shimbun Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda stressed the need for increased defense capabilities in light of Russia's continued aggression in Ukraine, in an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun on Tuesday. 'I think this is important to understand that those countries will never calm down, and they will try to escalate tension to create additional challenges,' he said of Russia and its ally Belarus. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is considering a proposal to raise each member's defense spending target to 5% of its gross domestic product by 2032, and Nauseda said Lithuania will surpass this target next year. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has been strongly urging European countries to increase their defense spending. Nauseda noted that the risk of an attack by Russia is increasing. 'We have not so much time to prepare ourselves,' he said, adding that even European countries geographically distant from Ukraine should increase their defense spending as soon as possible. Nauseda said that, as Russia, China, North Korea and Iran strengthen their ties, cooperation between Europe and Japan is becoming even more important. 'They are the threat to all of us, so we have to unite our forces in order to take those threats and to build the wall of resilience … In this geopolitical context, to stick together, it's even more important' than before, he said. The Japanese government has announced that it will dispatch Defense Ministry officials to Lithuania's Regional Cyber Defense Centre (RCDC) starting later this month, which Nauseda called a 'very good example of our cooperation in this very important field.'
Yomiuri Shimbun
6 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Akazawa Calls Latest U.S. Trade Talks ‘Deep,' Offers No Prediction on Any Imminent Outcome
The Yomiuri Shimbun Economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa speaks to reporters after his sixth talks with U.S officials over tariffs in Washington on Friday. Economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa and U.S. government officials held their sixth ministerial negotiation talks on Friday in Washington over the tariff measures of the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. After the meeting, Akazawa told reporters, 'We held very deep discussions to search for a possibility of reaching an agreement.' The Japan-U.S. ministerial talks have been held for four consecutive weeks. Akazawa held talks with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for about 70 minutes and with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for about 45 minutes, one after another. After the talks, Akazawa did not clearly mention a possibility of reaching an agreement during Group of Seven summit to be held from Sunday to Tuesday in Canada. A Japan-U.S. summit is scheduled to be held on the sidelines of the G7 summit. He briefly said, 'I want to refrain from making any predictions. So far, the Japanese government has repeatedly demanded that all U.S. 'reciprocal tariffs' on automobiles, steel and aluminum exports from Japan be abolished. Akazawa avoided clearly answering a question over whether he reiterated the demand in the latest talks. In the preceding talks, the Japanese side proposed to increase imports of U.S. agricultural products and reexamine 'non-tariff trade barriers' against U.S. cars in line with requests from the Trump administration. The Japanese government is also considering collaborations on strengthening supply chains for rare earths and semiconductors. In the evening on Friday, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba held telephone talks with Trump for about 20 minutes and agreed to hold an in-person meeting separately from the G7 summit. Attention will focus on whether the leaders will be able to reach an agreement based on discussions in the ministerial talks. Rare earth magnets The government has begun internal discussions on proposing cooperation with the United States to strengthen supply chains for powerful magnets made with rare earths in the ongoing Japan-U.S. trade negotiations over the Trump administration's tariff policy, according to Japanese government sources. China holds a major share of the market for high-performance magnets. The government expects that Japan and the United States will promote the building of supply chains which will not rely on China and aim to make progress in the tariff talks, which are entering a decisive phase. Magnets made with rare earths are essential for manufacturing motors of electric vehicles and devices used in missiles. In the case of neodymium magnets, a typical product of the kind, China holds more than an 80% share of *global production. Japan, which has high-level manufacturing technologies, holds a 15% share. The United States is struggling to find ways to deal with China's restrictions on exports of rare earths. The Japanese government aims to show a stance of contributing to U.S. manufacturing industries in fields in which Japanese manufacturers have high competitiveness. In doing so, the government wants to draw concessions from the United States on tariff issues, such as the 25% additional tariff on Japanese-made cars, as automobile manufacturing is Japan's core industry.
