The number of inmates on death row in Japan decreased by four yesterday as the Tokyo and Osaka detention centers hanged two inmates each.

The four men were Kunio Hatoyama’s 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th executions since he assumed the post of Justice Minister last year. Hatoyama entered the post with a statement of support for the practice of capital punishment, and apart from a brief sojourn to suggest that his signature was not necessary for the hanging of a felon, he has been busy authorizing at least a few state-sanctioned deaths every couple of months.

On Friday, December 7, 2007, Hatoyama ordered the executions of:

1) Seiha Fujima, 47, Tokyo Detention Center
2) Hiroki Fukawa, 42, Tokyo Detention Center
3) Noboru Ikemoto, 74, Osaka Detention Center
On Friday, February 1, 2008, Hatoyama ordered the executions of:

4) Takashi Mochida, 65, Tokyo Detention Center
5) Masahiko Matsubara, 63, Osaka Detention Center
6) Keishi Nago, 37, Fukuoka Detention Center
On Wednesday, April 9, 2008, Hatoyama ordered the executions of:

7) Masahito Sakamoto, 41, Tokyo Detention Center
8) Kaoru Okashia, 61, Tokyo Tokyo Detention Center
9) Katsuyoshi Nakamoto, 64, Osaka Detention Center
10) Masaharu Nakamura, 61, Osaka Detention Center

All of the men hanged over the past half year were convicted in court of at least one homicide each. Amnesty International and the United Nations have been vocal critics of Japan’s capital punishment regime. It is widely reported that death row inmates spend an average of seven to eight years in solitary confinement and are notified of their imminent hanging only a few hours before it takes place.

Under Justice Minister Hatoyama, the government has finally begun disclosing the names and crimes of those executed. Up until last year, the only information provided was the number of death row inmates executed each year.