In July, Justice Minister Keiko Chiba signed execution orders for two death row inmates and then attended their hangings. Many people were puzzled because Chiba, an attorney, had been opposed to the death penalty. She said that she was under no pressure to sign the orders and that there weren't any political motives behind her decision. She added, however, that she wanted to "push a debate on capital punishment" and ordered the formation of a study group to discuss the issue.
Approving the demise of two men is a novel way to get people to talk about an issue, but in accordance with Chiba's wishes the media has at least started looking more closely at Japan's capital punishment system, though it seems to be a debate the justice ministry wants to control.
On Aug. 27, the ministry invited select members of the press to inspect the execution chamber of the Tokyo Detention House (TDH) in order to "promote public discussions on the death penalty" in line with Chiba's directive. According to freelance reporter Michiyoshi Hatakeyama, writing in the magazine Shukan Kinyobi, 21 journalists, each representing a member of the ministry's press club, were allowed to view the gallows for 16 minutes in the morning. Except for NHK and Kyodo News, they could not take photographs, and were transported to the execution chamber on a microbus with blacked-out windows.
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