Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Japan. The Penal Code of Japan and several laws list 14 capital crimes, though in practice it is applied only for aggravated murder. Executions are carried out by long drop hanging, and take place at one of the seven execution chambers located in major cities across the country. The only crime punishable by a mandatory death sentence is instigation of foreign aggression.
Death sentences are usually passed in cases of multiple murders, although there have been some extremely grave cases where individuals who committed a single murder have been sentenced to death and executed, such as those involving torture, extreme brutality or kidnapping with a demand for ransom.
Between January 2000 and July 2022, 98 inmates have been executed in Japan. , 100 death row inmates were awaiting execution. The most recent execution was that of Sunao Takami on 21 August 2026 for the arson-murder of five people in a 2009 pachinko parlor fire.
Japan is one of four developed democracies worldwide to actively apply the death penalty. In 2025, a government survey showed that about 83.1% of the Japanese population supports the death penalty. The figure was a 2.3% increase from a survey taken five years prior.
History
According to the Kojiki, Japan's oldest historical book, the death penalty is believed to have first appeared in Japan in the first half of the 5th century during the reign of Emperor Nintoku. Methods of execution during this period included strangulation, beheading, and burning to death, and in some special cases, the death penalty was carried out and then exposed to public view.
The Taihō Code and the Yōrō Code stipulated two methods of capital punishment: beheading and strangulation. In 773, the method of beating to death was added for arsonists and thieves, bringing the total to three methods of capital punishment. The execution of the death penalty required the approval of the emperor.
Beginning in the Nara period (710–794), the death penalty was infrequently used, and the death penalty was abolished completely in the Heian period (794–1185). The death penalty was not used for 346 years following the execution of Fujiwara no Nakanari in 810, until it was revived during the Hōgen rebellion of 1156. However, during the Genpei War (1180–1185), the death penalty by sawing and crucifixion may have been carried out.
During the Kamakura period (1185–1333), the only method of capital punishment was beheading, and felons in particular were displayed to the public as an example after their execution. The Muromachi period (1333–1573) largely followed the Kamakura period method of capital punishment. On the other hand, seppuku, which appeared as a method of suicide in the Heian period, was first used as a method of capital punishment in this period.
From the Sengoku period to the Azuchi-Momoyama period, the methods of execution became more varied and cruel, reflecting the climate of warfare. The following methods of execution were used: skewering with a yari, burying them in the ground from the neck down and cutting off their heads with a bamboo saw, tying the criminal's legs to two oxen and tearing the legs apart, tying the criminal's legs to two wheels and tearing the legs apart, burning the criminal at the stake, boiling the criminal in a pot, wrapping the criminal in a woven straw rug and throwing him under water, and so on. During this period, capital punishment by crucifixion was also practiced, which is believed to have begun under Western influence.
In the early Edo period (1603–1867), there was no new code on capital punishment, and some of the methods of execution used in the Sengoku period, such as execution by oxen, were continued, but, in 1742, during the reign of Tokugawa Yoshimune, a new law was enacted that changed the method of capital punishment and lessened its severity. Under the new law, the only methods of capital punishment were sawing, crucifixion, beheading, burning at the stake, and seppuku. Burning at the stake applied only to arsonists, while seppuku applied only to the samurai class. Even for the same beheading, there were differences in the treatment of the body after execution, depending on the severity of the crime. If the crime was serious, the body was exposed to the public for three days, used for test cutting with a Japanese sword (tameshigiri), or had its property confiscated by the government. In the Edo period, sawing was a method of execution for criminals who had killed their lord, which was the most severe of the death penalties. The revised law by Tokugawa Yoshimune stated that the criminal should be buried in the ground from the neck down and exposed to the public for two days, and if any of the victim's relatives or passersby so requested, he or she should actually be sawed to death. After the law was revised, however, the sawing became a mere formality, and no saws were ever used in executions. In practice, the saw was placed next to the criminal, who was buried from the neck down, and exposed to the public for two days before he was finally executed by crucifixion.
In 1871 during the Meiji era (1868–1912), as the result of a major reform of the penal code, the number of crimes punishable by death was decreased and excessively harsh torture and flogging were abolished. In 1873, another revision resulted in a further reduction in the number of crimes punishable by death, and methods of execution were restricted to beheading or hanging. However, such sentiments would see a sharp reversal after World War I as the country descended into militarism up to World War II, and after the country's defeat, continuing towards post-war Japan until today.
Today, executions in Japan are carried out by long drop hanging, which is intended to cause death by breakage of the neck.
Crimes permitting the imposition of the death penalty
Below is a table containing the various crimes for which the death penalty is provided, as well as a citation to the requisite legal provision itself and whether or not the penalty is mandatory or discretionary.
+ Capital crimes under the Penal Code of 1907 Article Description Sentencing 77(1)(i) Ringleading a riot for the purpose of "overthrowing the government, usurping the territorial sovereignty of the State, or otherwise subverting constitutional order" (an insurrection) Discretionary 77(2) Attempting to ringlead an insurrection in equal circumstances Discretionary 81 Instigating foreign aggression against Japan by conspiring with a foreign state Mandatory 82 Aiding or assisting an enemy at war with Japan Discretionary 108 Setting fire to and burning an inhabited building, train, tram, vessel or mine which is either a residential house or a place where a person is currently present in Discretionary 119 Causing a flood to damage an inhabited building, train, tram, vessel or mine which is either a residential house or a place where a person is currently present in Discretionary 126(3) Causing death by overturning or destroying an occupied train or tram or capsizing, sinking, or destroying an occupied vessel Discretionary 146 Causing death by polluting or poisoning a public water source Discretionary 199 Homicide (murder) Discretionary 240 Causing death in the course of a robbery Discretionary 241(3) Causing death in the course of a robbery in conjunction with a rape, or a rape in conjunction with a robbery Discretionary
+ Capital crimes under the Act on Punishment of Organized Crimes and Control of Proceeds of Crime of 1999 Article Description Sentencing 3(1)(vii) Performing a murder or homicide under orders of a criminal organization Discretionary
+ Capital crimes under other legislation Legislation Article Description Sentencing Explosives Control Act of 1884 1 Using an explosive with the intent of disturbing the peace or causing bodily harm or property to another person, or causing another person to use an explosive in like manner Discretionary Act on Punishment of Acts of Extortion by Hostage-taking of 1978 4 Murdering a hostage Discretionary Anti-Hijacking Act of 1970 2 Killing a person in the course of hijacking an aircraft Discretionary Act on Punishment of Acts Causing Endangerment to Aviation of 1974 2(3) Crashing, capsizing, sinking, or destroying an aircraft in flight causing death Discretionary Anti-Piracy Act of 2009 2, 4 Seizing a ship and controlling its operation resulting in death OR stealing property onboard a ship resulting in death OR kidnapping a person onboard a ship resulting in death OR taking a hostage onboard a ship resulting in death Discretionary
System
Sentencing guideline – Nagayama Standard In Japan, the courts follow guidelines laid down in the trial of Norio Nagayama, a 19-year-old from a severely disadvantaged background, who committed four separate robbery-murders in 1968 and was finally hanged in 1997. The Tokyo High Court originally gave him a life term, but, in 1983, the Supreme Court of Japan held it was an error, and quashed this sentence before sending Nagayama back on death row.
The court ruled that the penalty shall be decided in consideration of the degree of criminal liability and balance of justice based on a nine-point set of criteria. Though technically not a precedent, this guideline has been followed by all subsequent capital cases in Japan. The nine criteria are as follows: Degree of viciousness Motive How the crime was committed; especially the manner in which the victim was killed. Outcome of the crime; especially the number of victims. Sentiments of the bereaved family members. Impact of the crime on Japanese society. Defendant's age (in Japan, the age of majority is 18). Defendant's previous criminal record. Degree of remorse shown by the defendant.
The number of victims killed is the most important criterion for imposition of a death sentence. A death sentence handed down for a single murder (previous convictions included) is considered "extraordinary".
In 2012, a research institute affiliated with the Supreme Court issued a report on application of capital punishment from 1980 to 2009. The study found that, while prosecutors very rarely demand the death penalty in cases of single murder, death sentences were passed in 32% of those cases where they requested it. On the other hand, prosecutors seek the death penalty almost systematically in cases of multiple homicide, and 59% of cases of double-murder and 79% of cases where three or more victims have been killed result in death sentences being passed.
The study also found that death sentences were passed in all cases of convicted murderers who killed again after being released on parole from life prison terms, and in all robbery-murder cases with three or more people killed.
Furthermore, in 5 of 10 kidnap-for-ransom cases in which one person was killed, the defendants were sentenced to death.
Judicial process Since May 2009, district courts try capital cases using the lay judge system, where three professional judges sit with six randomly chosen citizens. Five votes of the nine-member court, including at least one professional judge, are required for issuing a conviction and any punishment, including death.
Japan has a civil law legal system; therefore, appeals courts retry both facts and law. High courts retry cases with only three judges and no lay judges, and can either reduce a death sentence to life or raise a life sentence to death. Ultimately, a five-member petty bench of the Supreme Court has the final say on the penalty, Article 411 of the Code of Criminal Procedure allows it to remand the case or change the punishment if the one handed down by the high court is "seriously unfair".