Overview
- The ruling rejected an injunction to halt executions and denied ¥33 million in damages sought by three death-row prisoners held in Osaka.
- The court declined to revisit whether hanging is constitutional or violates international covenants, noting earlier Supreme Court decisions upholding the death penalty in 1948 and the hanging method in 1955.
- State attorneys argued that disputes over execution methods must be handled through criminal procedure to protect the finality of criminal judgments.
- Presiding Judge Noriko Yokota said an order stopping hanging would conflict with finalized criminal rulings issued under existing law.
- A defense request to compel disclosure of execution-room plans and details such as rope material and thickness was deemed unnecessary and was refused.