Faced with the execution of detainee Tomohiro Kato – which took place at the same time as those of the Burmese dissidents – the Justice and Peace Commission of the Japanese episcopate warned: “The violence of the death penalty can never build a peaceful society. It is a barbarism that threatens the times and creates more violence”.
Tokyo () – In Asia, the week that has just ended was marked by the execution of four political opponents in Myanmar. For the former Burma, these are the first death penalty executions in more than thirty years. But in these same days, the Japanese authorities also executed Tomohiro Kato, a man who had stabbed seven people to death in 2008. In Singapore, the exit from the pandemic coincided with a dramatic number of executions: 5 in the last five months.
In this context, it seems significant to us to disseminate the note published by the Justice and Peace Council of the Japanese Catholic Church, since -based on the local case- it proposes a broader reflection on the teaching of the Church regarding the death penalty. .
“We express our deep sorrow and our strong protest,” the statement read, “against the execution of Tomohiro Kato, 39, detained in the Tokyo Detention Center, where he was executed on July 26, 2022. His precious life was taken at the hands of the state”. The Council recalls that it was on July 26, but in 2016, when Japan mourned the victims of an assault on a facility for the disabled in Sagamihara, an event that left 19 dead. It was “an unprecedented case of homicide and injury.” We pray for the victims and renew our conviction that there is never a life that is not worth living.” Two years later, in 2018, also on July 26, six death row inmates linked to the terrorist group Aum Shinrikyo were executed together “We are horrified “, the note commented, “that the State has chosen this very day and has once again eliminated a person” because, in his opinion, “it is a life that is not worth living.”
“In light of the Gospel revealed by Jesus Christ, the Catholic Church firmly believes that the life of every person is precious,” continues the Justice and Peace Council. “And that, no matter how serious the sin committed by a person, his dignity is never diminished In light of its mission to protect all life, it not only teaches that the death penalty is an unacceptable attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person, but also expresses its determination to work for its abolition throughout the world. At a time when the rigorous application of the penal system has made it possible to prevent the repetition of crimes and guarantee the security of society by means other than the death penalty,” writes the organ of the Japanese Catholic Church, “We believe that the death penalty has lost its reason for being, considering the value of human life.”
The document also recalls how in recent days “for the first time in decades” the death penalty has been applied in Myanmar and how this fact has been condemned by the international community. “As the Japanese government has stated,” writes Justice and Peace, this is likely to “lead to further isolation.” However, we are “gravely concerned” that while he was still talking, the Japanese government followed the same path and committed an outrageous act of self-degradation of its international position. The violence of the death penalty can never build a peaceful society. It is a barbarism that threatens the times and creates more violence”
“We have learned from Jesus Christ the truth that all life is precious -concludes the text-, we nurture the hope of conversion, forgiveness and true reconciliation. Because although it is difficult, it is not at all impossible. In unison with Pope Francis and the Catholic Church around the world, and uniting our hearts and minds with people of good will around the world who respect human rights, we will continue to press for the abolition of the death penalty – a cruel and merciless punishment – and for an immediate moratorium on executions”.
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