The video compares the death row systems in Japan and the United States. In Japan, prisoners on death row often do not know the date of their execution, which can lead to psychological strain. The country has a 99% conviction rate, partly due to its interrogation methods, which can involve torture and coercion. In contrast, the US has a more transparent system, with set execution dates and the option for prisoners to request a last meal.
The video highlights the differences in execution methods, with Japan using hanging and the US using lethal injection. Some states in the US allow prisoners to choose their method of execution, including the electric chair and firing squad.
Despite the differences, both countries have been criticized for their death penalty systems. The UN Committee against Torture has criticized Japan for its surprise executions, while human rights organizations have called for the US to abolish the death penalty.
Interestingly, 80% of Japanese citizens support the death penalty, compared to 54% of US citizens. The video concludes by noting that while there are differences between the two countries' death row systems, it is unclear whether one is better than the other, or if the death penalty should exist at all.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. Japan and the United States are the only two developed democracies that still execute their own citizens.
2. On average, Japan incarcerates 39 people per 100,000, while the United States incarcerates 655 people per 100,000.
3. In Japan, the conviction rate is 99%, while in the United States it is around 90%.
4. In the United States, confessions obtained after more than 200 hours of interrogation are ruled as involuntary and unreliable.
5. In Japan, confessions can be obtained through torture and inhumane practices, and the country has a 99% conviction rate.
6. Iwao Hakamada was arrested and convicted in Japan and spent 50 years on death row before being released due to his fragile mental state.
7. In Japan, death row inmates are not given predetermined execution dates and may be executed at any point after being sentenced.
8. The UN Committee against Torture has criticized Japan for its practice of not providing execution dates to death row inmates.
9. In Japan, executions are carried out by hanging, while in the United States, lethal injection is the most common method.
10. In some states in the United States, prisoners can choose their method of execution, including the electric chair or firing squad.
11. Japan has a much higher support rate for the death penalty than the United States, with 80% of Japanese citizens supporting it, compared to 54% of United States citizens.
12. In 2019, Japan approved a decision to stop using the death penalty by 2020, but it has not yet been abolished.
13. Death row inmates in both Japan and the United States often suffer from mental illness and are kept in solitary confinement until their execution.
14. In the United States, death row inmates are allowed to request a last meal, while in Japan, they do not receive a final meal on the day of their execution.
15. The Japanese Justice Ministry released a report in 1998 stating that seven people were executed in one week, which was the largest number of executions in that amount of time.