Does Japan have the death penalty

Does Japan have the death penalty

Q: Does Japan have the death penalty

A. Japan has the death penalty. According to Article 199 of the Japanese Criminal Law, anyone who commits homicide shall be sentenced to death or life imprisonment or fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years. However, although the death penalty is retained in Japanese law, actual executions are very rare. This is due to the lengthy appeals process after the death penalty is imposed, and the general reluctance of most Ministers of Justice to act as executioners and refuse to issue execution warrants for political or other personal reasons. As a result, although Japan has a death penalty system, executions are rarely carried out in practice.