Condemnation of the Mass Execution Authorized by
the Japanese Minister of Justice: Yoko Kamikawa
July 26, 2018
Center for Prisoner Rights
www.cpr.jca.apc.org
Japan Innocence and Death Penalty Information Center
www.jiadep.org
Today, according to an order signed by Minister of Justice(Ms) Yoko Kamikawa, six former members of the Aum
Supreme Truth Cult, Satoru Hashimoto, age 51; Toru Toyoda,age 50; Kenichi Hirose, age 54; Yasuo Hayashi (later named
Yasuo Koike), age 60; Masato Yokoyama, age 54; and KazuakiOkazaki (later named Kazuaki Miyamae), age 57, wereexecuted. Hayashi and Okazaki changed their surnames after
they were imprisoned.
The Center for Prisoner Rights and the Japan Innocenceand Death Penalty Information Center strongly protest thismass execution. Including the 7 executions carried out on July
6th, 13 executions have occurred inside twenty days. This is
the first time in modern Japanese history that so many
executions have occurred in such a short time span.
After the 7 executions on July 6, many voices throughout
the world have criticized the Japanese government regarding
this awful act. Leading movements such as The World Coalition
Against the Death Penalty (WCADP), and the International
Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), have shouted loudly forthe revocation of the death sentences against the remaining six

cult members. Four of these, Yokoyama, Koike, Toyoda andHirose, had filed for retrials.
Executing those who have filed for retrial violates the rightof due process, and nullifies the right of having an objective
court of law decide a proper outcome. The United Nations
Human Rights Committee has repeatedly admonished theJapanese government to postpone execution of those whohave filed for retrials.
Furthermore, in March of this year, the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR）has
insisted that the executions of the Aum defendants who wereseeking retrials would be in violation of United Nations'standards for the protection of human rights.
In addition, many other voices have called for thetermination of executions. These include the Japan Society for
Cult Prevention and Recovery (www.jscpr.org/english), and thefamilies of former Aum members -including a victim of violencehave spoken out against execution. They seek a betterunderstanding of the dynamics which caused this tragedy, andmethods to prevent future occurrences.
With today's executions, the total number authorized byMinister of Justice Yoko Kamikawa, including her previous term(from October, 2014 to October, 2015), is now 16. This is thehighest number since executions were restarted in 1993, andeven surpasses the 13 authorized by a previous minister, Kunio
Hatoyama, who the media dubbed as the "grim reaper."This past September (2017), Kamikawa presented thewelcome remarks at the World Congress on Probation in Tokyo.
The motto of the conference was "People can change." Asjustice minister, Kamikawa's motto is "a society in which no one
is left behind." A politician with two faces, she obviously does

not believe that people will change, and is happy to disposeand leave behind prisoners sentenced to death, including those
who show remorse and have apologized for past acts.

In 2019, Japan will hold the Enthronement Ceremony forthe new emperor, in 2020, Tokyo will host the summer
Olympics and Para-Olympics, and Kyoto will host the 14th
United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal
Justice. In light of these events which are celebrations ofharmony and friendship among nations, the mass execution offormer Aum Supreme Truth cultists is truly a contradiction.
On December 30, 1997, the nation of South Korea carriedout 23 executions in one day. Since then, no executions haveoccurred. We strongly request that the Japanese government
and the Ministry of Justice follow the lead of internationalsociety and abandon abnormal punishment. We hope that thisround of executions will be the last in Japan, and that concrete
investigation and dialogue be immediately opened toward theabolishment of the death penalty.