Amnesty International Report 2000 - Japan

Head of state: Emperor Akihito
Head of government: Obuchi Keizo
Capital: Tokyo
Population: 126.1 million
Official language: Japanese
Death penalty: retentionist
1999 treaty ratifications/signatures: UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

Five people were executed in 1999 and 99 others remained under sentence of death. Japan acceded to the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment with effect from 29 July. However, it did not make a declaration under Article 22 of the Convention, which would allow private individuals who claim to have been subjected to torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment to bring their cases before the UN Committee against Torture.

Background

On 5 October Prime Minister Obuchi Keizo launched a new conservative coalition government, securing control of both houses of parliament. The economy showed continuing but slow signs of recovery after a decade of large economic rescue packages.

Death penalty

Five people were executed in 1999. One of the five had filed a habeas corpus petition to the court, and another had petitioned for a retrial; the outcomes of the petitions were not known. The authorities continued to carry out executions in secret. There were some 99 prisoners under sentence of death at the end of the year, at least 45 of whom had had their sentences upheld by the Supreme Court. Prisoners under sentence of death can receive visits only from one family member and are held in solitary confinement, sometimes for many years. A prisoner under sentence of death for 15 years reportedly committed suicide in November.

Torture and ill-treatment

Prisoners continued to face cruel and humiliating treatment including the use of instruments of restraint such as leather body belts and metal handcuffs, the imposition of severe penalties for minor infractions of prison regulations, and 24-hour surveillance. Efforts to reform Japan's harsh and highly secretive prisons suffered a setback with the ruling in April by the Asahikawa District Court that solitary confinement was "reasonable" and "necessary for keeping order" in prisons and that decisions on solitary confinement were at the discretion of prison wardens. The ruling had been made in the case of Isoe Yoichi, sentenced to life imprisonment for killing a policeman in 1979, who had filed a suit against the government in December 1987. Isoe Yoichi, who had been in solitary confinement for most of the 13 years he had spent in prison, had sued the government for five million yen for physical and mental pain. He had claimed that solitary confinement had violated the constitutional ban on torture and cruel punishment.

Asylum-seekers

1999 saw a marked increase in the number of asylum-seekers. Fifteen people were granted asylum, at least 177 had their applications rejected and the applications of a further 171 remained pending. The process for determining asylum, which continued to be subject to long delays, lacked transparency. For example, a rule requiring asylum-seekers to lodge their claims within 60 days of arrival was applied inconsistently. The government has never given reasons for its decisions in asylum cases.

In March the Immigration Control and Refugees Recognition Law was revised, making overstaying illegally in the country a separate offence from illegal entry. Foreign nationals found to have stayed three years or more after illegally entering the country cannot be prosecuted for illegal entry owing to the statute of limitation of three years.

Legislation

New laws came into force in December under which groups implicated in serious crimes can be placed under the surveillance of the chief of the Public Security Investigation Agency for up to three years. In addition bankruptcy administrators can take control of assets held before groups are declared bankrupt, even if those assets have been transferred to other entities.

There was concern that a wire-tapping law passed in August could violate constitutionally guaranteed rights to privacy and confidential communication. Human rights organizations raised concerns that such laws may infringe basic human rights. There was concern that these laws could be arbitrarily used by police against peaceful activists.

The Public Security Investigation Agency can launch investigations if it determines that an organization may engage in subversive activities in the future. In previous years the Agency had ordered its eight regional bureaux to monitor the activities of 40 organizations including AI Japan and the Japan Congress of Journalists.

Detention of lawyer and activists

There were concerns that the authorities were seeking to restrict the legitimate activities of human rights defenders and civil society groups.

• Yasuda Yoshihiro, a well-known human rights lawyer and campaigner against the death penalty arrested in December 1998, was detained for 10 months before being released on bail in September. He was kept in solitary confinement under 24-hour video surveillance in a so-called "suicide prevention cell" for more than four months. There was concern that the length of Yasuda Yoshihiro's detention was disproportionate to the charges against him, which carry a maximum penalty of two years' imprisonment. His prolonged detention also led to him being dismissed as the court-appointed lawyer for the defence of Aum Shinrikyo leader Matsumoto Chizuo (also known as Asahara Shoko) who was charged with an offence which could carry a death sentence. There was concern that Matsumoto Chizuo's right to a fair trial may have been jeopardized by Yasuda Yoshihiro's dismissal from the case.
• Three activists belonging to the environmental organization Greenpeace were arrested on 18 March after unfurling a large banner from the side of the Tokyo Big Sight convention centre in protest at the Tokyo Toy Show. They were later fined 100,000 yen (approximately US$830) for trespass and released after 11 days in detention. On 23 March police in Tokyo conducted an unprecedented raid on the Greenpeace offices and on the home of the Executive Director of Greenpeace Japan confiscating campaign reports, accounting records and records of supporters and donations.