Japanese judges appear ready to remain out of step with much of the rest of the civilized world by continuing to impose the death penalty. Some officials responsible for the administration of justice in this country compound the issue by the apparent avidity with which they defend and support capital punishment, which in Japan is inflicted by hanging. The Fukuoka District Court on Wednesday sentenced to death a 52-year-old man convicted of murdering a man and a woman a decade ago for insurance money he was unable to obtain. One day earlier, Justice Minister Hideo Usui made the controversial statement in the Diet that executions could be carried out on death-row convicts who had requested retrials if it seemed highly unlikely their requests would be granted.

Since instructions to carry out executions must be signed by the justice minister, Mr. Usui's comment seems to mean that he feels qualified to determine in advance ("guess" might be the better word) whether the nation's courts will reject a death-row convict's appeal for retrial. His surprising statement came in response to a question from a Social Democratic Party member in a session of the Judicial Affairs Committee of the House of Councilors. Mr. Usui had been asked about the questionable execution last December of a 62-year-old convict whose request for a retrial had not yet been acted on. If his reply was correctly reported, it is not only citizens' groups calling for a ban on capital punishment that should be concerned.

The announcement by the convict in the Fukuoka case the day after the court's decision that he would not appeal his death sentence in no way alters the fact that the justice minister's comment could indicate a disturbing new trend in government policy involving basic human rights guaranteed by the Constitution. Only a little more than a year ago, one of Mr. Usui's predecessors announced a relaxation of the extreme secrecy with which the Justice Ministry had long surrounded executions, even refusing to acknowledge they had been conducted. This followed increasing public demand for more information, although the change involves only when executions are carried out and the number of those hanged. The names are still not announced, ostensibly in deference to family privacy.