Executions in Japan are shrouded in secrecy, with prisoners typically given only a few hours’ notice and their familes usually notified about the execution only after it has taken place.

Japan is one of a small group of countries that has carried out executions in recent years. Amnesty International recorded 1,518 executions in 15 countries in 2024 (excluding the thousands believed to have been carried out in China), an increase by 32% from the 1,153 recorded in 2023 largely driven by a spike in three countries in the Middle East – Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.