Every morning, in many cases for decades, condemned inmates in Japan wake up not knowing whether or not they will be hanged that day. Death row inmates are usually only notified of their execution a few hours in advance, but two of them are now challenging the practice in court, the BBC reports. Lawyer Yutaka Ueda, echoing the complaints of international human rights groups, calls the same-day executions "extremely inhumane." A lawsuit filed in Osaka Thursday argues that the practice is illegal because it does not give inmates time to file an objection. This is believed to be the first legal challenge to the longstanding practice. The lawsuit calls for an end to short-notice executions and seeks compensation of almost $200,000 for the two inmates.
"The central government has said this is meant to keep prisoners from suffering before their execution, but that's no explanation and a big problem, and we really need to see how they respond to the suit," Ueda said, per Reuters. "Overseas, prisoners are given time to contemplate the end of their lives and mentally prepare. It's as if Japan is trying as hard as possible not to let anybody know." Japan has 112 prisoners on death row and only three or four are executed in a typical year, though 13 members of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult were hanged in two mass executions in 2018. The country's most recent execution was in December 2019. (In 2014, a former boxer was freed after more than 45 years on Japan's death row.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
