What's new

Couple of questions about Japan

chikazukiyasui said:
Oh, I don't know. If you go to a Scottish wedding, you'll find that all those drunk men in kilts are carrying traditional daggers (skean dubh) in their socks. They never seem to use them, though, even though the Scottish capacity for booze is legendary. Sikhs also traditionally carry a dagger (kirpan) on them all the time. That doesn't often seem to lead to much violence or accidental injury, either.

Then again, there've been a couple of murder cases in Britain in recent years that involved Samurai swords.

About prisons and the death penalty in Japan. I really don't understand those who insist that the punishment of crime ought to be nice. In some countries, there are habitual criminals who treat jail like a holiday home.

*Sigh*, Franks comment was a joke.. geeze

But there is no reason for people to carry swords in Japan. Samurai, who now no longer exist, were the only people to have the right to carry swords. And no samurai means noone carries swords. Simple, its not that same as in Scotland ;)
 
chikazukiyasui said:
About prisons and the death penalty in Japan. I really don't understand those who insist that the punishment of crime ought to be nice. In some countries, there are habitual criminals who treat jail like a holiday home.

I have sort of strange and seemingly self-contradictory views on the death penalty.

First off, I have no problem with the idea that there are crimes for which one's life is and ought to be forfeit. However, I don't think anyone who wants to be the executioner should be allowed to, and no one who doesn't want to should be asked to. Which leaves no one to do it, I know.

I also believe that execution of the death penalty should be somewhat brutal, cruel, and vindictive in nature. Doing so by such humane means as lethal injection removes the most human elements, revenge and vindictiveness, from the process and totally dehumanizes the process. Since I don't believe the death penalty should ever actually be carried out, though, I hope no one will get their panties in too tight a wad over that opinion.

Some problems with the death penalty in Japan:

1. The law states that the execution take place within 6 months of finalization of the sentence (exhaustion of appeals) and that the execution take place within 5 days of the order being issued by the Minister of Justice. In actuality, only the latter portion of that is followed to the letter.

2. The criminal justice system in Japan has a history of railroading innocent people. Executed death penalties are sort of hard to rectify in any way that can be of any any comfort to the deceased.

3. Prisoners have no set date for execution, and never know on which day the boots coming down the hall are bringing breakfast, or coming to take them to the gallows.

4. Executions sometimes take place even though the condemned still has appeals working their way through the system.

5. Condemned prisoners' communication with the outside world is very severely limited, reducing the chance for wrongly condemned people to actively campaign for remedy.

6. The manner in which the hanging is carried out is poorly done, with time from trapdoor drop to death averaging around 14 minutes. Death is by strangulation, and not by snapping of the neck and spinal cord.

7. The execution places guards and their families under severe psychological duress.

8. Fellow condemned prisoners often have to remove the body from the noose and perform the clean up and prepare the body for removal.
 
Wow, two discussions! Death penalty and traditional weaponry! :)

Its nothing like guns in the United States. Apart from traditional and historical collectors, I know of nobody that carries around guns in the city streets because of scholarly reasons.
 
Back
Top Bottom