**MAKINO TADASHI* *(m), born 1950
Death row prisoner Makino Tadashi has just had his latest appeal for clemency rejected on 30 September 2008, and is at imminent risk of execution. He was sentenced to death in 1990 for murdering one woman and injuring two others. He is held in Fukuoka Detention Centre.
During his trial, before Fukuoka District Court, his lawyers argued that he lacked adequate mental capacity and could not be responsible for his crimes. However, the court sentenced him to death.
Makino Tadashi appealed to the High Court but later withdrew his appeal. His lawyers challenged his motion to withdraw his appeal on the grounds that he was not fully aware of his actions. His lawyers appealed to the Fukuoka District Court for a retrial, but were rejected in September 2004. They then appealed to the Fukuoka High Court, but were rejected again in December 2005. They appealed to the Supreme Court for a retrial but were rejected in January 2006. They submitted an appeal for clemency, which was rejected on 29 May 2008 to the Ministry of Justice. Appeals for clemency typically take years to process, however this latest rejection took only 3 months.
Makino Tadashi was arrested in November 1993. He had served a life sentence for murder and robbery committed when he was 19. He had been released on parole in 1987 after spending 16-and-a-half years in prison.
Current Minister of Justice Mori Eisuke took office on 24 September under the new Prime Minister Aso Taro. Japan has executed 13 people so far this year compared to nine executions in 2007. The previous Minister of Justice Yasuoka Okiharu who was in office for less then two months, executed three people on 11 September.
Executions are typically carried out in secret and are by hanging. Prisoners are typically given only a few hours notice: this means they must spend their entire time on death row fearing they could be taken for execution at any time. Typically, a prisoner is notified on the morning of the day of the execution, although some are hanged without any warning. Their families typically receive no notice at all.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases, as a violation of the right to life and the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. There are currently over 100 people on death row in Japan. At least 23 people who went on trial in 2007 were facing the death penalty: this is the highest number since 1962.
Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English, Japanese or your own language:
MORI Eisuke
Minister of Justice
1-1-1 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8977, Japan
Fax: 00 81 3 3592 7088
00 81 3 5511 7200 (via Public Information & Foreign Liaison Office)
Salutation: Dear Minister
COPIES TO:
ASO Taro
Prime Minister
Prime Minister's Office
2-3-1 Nagata-cho
Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 100-0014,
Japan
Fax: 00 81 3 3581 3883
Salutation: Dear Prime Minister
Newspapers
Asahi Shimbun
5.3.2 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku
Tokyo 104-8011,
Japan
Fax:00 81 3 3545 0285, 00 81 3 3593 0438
Japan Times
5-4 Shibaura 4-chome, Minato-ku
Tokyo 108-0023
Japan
Email: opinion@japantimes.co.jp
Yomiuri Shimbun
1-7-1 Ohtemachi, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 100-0004
Japan
Fax: 00 81 3 3245 1277
BOTSCHAFT VON JAPAN
Herrn Kiyoshi Koinuma, Geschäftsträger a.i. (Gesandter)
Hiroshimastraße 6
10785 Berlin
Fax: 030-2109 4222
E-Mail: info@botschaft-japan.de
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
 | Urgent Action: Imminent Execution | UA-160/2008 |
| Urgent Action: FEAR OF IMMINENT EXECUTION | UA-160/2008-1 |
| Urgent Action: Hinrichtung verhindern! | UA-160/2008-2 |
| Urgent Action: Drohende Hinrichtungen | UA-160/2007-5 |
| Urgent Action: Hinrichtung | UA-160/2008-3 |
