Joint local statement on an execution in Japan

The European Union Delegation, the Heads of Mission of EU Member States and the Heads of Mission of Iceland, Norway and Switzerland issue the following statement in Japan:

On 26 December 2019, the government of Japan carried out the execution of the prisoner Wei Wei, its third execution in 2019.

In keeping with our consistent strong and principled position against the death penalty, we oppose the use of capital punishment under any circumstances, and continue our active pursuit of its abolition worldwide.  The death penalty violates the inalienable right to life enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. Capital punishment also fails to act as a deterrent to crime and is impossible to reverse in the case of errors.

Therefore, the European Union Delegation, the Heads of Mission of EU Member States and the Heads of Mission of Iceland, Norway and Switzerland repeat our call to the Japanese authorities to adopt a moratorium on executions, recalling the period of 20 months prior to March 2012 during which no executions took place in Japan.

Furthermore, alongside like-minded organisations and individuals in Japan and elsewhere, we call for an urgent and thorough review of capital punishment within the criminal justice system, and call on Japanese authorities to promote a wide public debate on this issue. The UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, which will be held in Kyoto in April 2020, will provide an opportunity to examine ways forward to abolish capital punishment.