The Delegation of the European Union (EU), 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 July 2022, the government of Japan executed Tomohiro Kato, its first execution in 2022 and the second by the current government.
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 it is impossible to reverse in the case of errors.
Therefore, the EU Delegation, the Heads of Mission of EU Member States and the Heads of Mission of Iceland, Norway and Switzerland repeat their call to the Japanese authorities to adopt a moratorium on executions, recalling the 20-month period between July 2010 and March 2012 as well as the roughly two-year period between December 2019 and December 2021 during which no executions took place.
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".
