Japanese Radio Station To Air Recording Of 1955 Execution

In the wake of the 4 executions held in Japan last week which have come under significant condemnation from various sources including Amnesty international, according the AFP
, a Japanese radio station is preparing to broadcast a recording of a previous execution.

The 55 minute radio broadcast of the 1955 execution may include the sounds of the man being told he would be executed the next day, a possible conversation between the condemned and a prison official (although this is dependent on the official agreeing to it), and the actual sound of the rope stretching as the man is hanged.

The Osaka prison officials appear surprised about the existence of such an audio tape. According to their records, such a tape was never made.

Without this turning into a debate about the validity of capital punishment, and with the recent controversy about the four death row prisoners’ sentences being carried out fresh in our minds, is it not in poor taste to play the tapes? Or , as the broadcaster maintains, a year out from the introduction of lay judges (similar to the jury system), will it help bring more exposure to the way the death penalty has been carried out in Japan? A process which was so secretive that until December 2007, the names and details of those executed were not made public.