Over 80% support death penalty in Japan: gov't survey

But while support for capital punishment edged up 2.3 percentage points to 83.1 percent compared with the previous survey in 2019, the proportion calling for its abolition rose a sharper 7.5 points to 16.5 percent, according to the results released on Feb. 21.

It was the fifth consecutive time for support for the system to exceed 80 percent in the government poll, conducted every five years.

The most common reason for supporting the death penalty among multiple answers allowed, chosen by 62.2 percent, was concern for the feelings of victims of capital crimes and their families.

A total of 55.5 percent, meanwhile, said violent crimes should be paid for with lives while 53.4 percent cited concerns that abolition of capital punishment would lead to a rise in atrocious crimes.

Among those favoring abolition, a record high 71 percent chose as a reason that mistaken convictions become irreversible, with the figure rising by some 20 points from the previous survey.

The survey was conducted between October and December after an 88-year-old man was acquitted in a retrial last year over a 1966 quadruple murder case. The ruling on Iwao Hakamata, who spent more than four decades on death row, was finalized in October.

Meanwhile, 37.5 percent said the death penalty should be abolished if life imprisonment without parole is introduced, while 61.8 percent said it should still remain in place.

The survey was conducted on 3,000 people aged 18 and older, with 1,815 valid responses. The method was changed to mail from in-person following the coronavirus pandemic.

Recall last November the Japanese government on Thursday ruled out abolishing the death penalty, rejecting calls by domestic legal experts for a review amid international pressure to end executions.