Living on the Edge No. 33 - Diary of Mr. Yamano

October 19, 2001 (Friday)
The general image of "death row inmates" seems to be one of violent and ferocious people, or of individuals with a gloomy aura, spending their days in mental anguish in fear of their impending executions. However, most of the inmates have their own goals, and live out their lives in prison doing what they can as best they can. The atmosphere is actually quite bright. Of course, there are among the inmates those who spend the day staring vaguely into space, and there are others who seem somewhat eerie or frightening. However, most are just ordinary people. It appears that they are generally regretful of the incidents they were involved in. However, I do not think it's possible for a person to retain one's sanity spending years and years preoccupied with the past. Even if you are genuinely repentant, you would go crazy if you never thought about anything else, so most prisoners do what they can to think about other things, and focus their minds on something.
Most gave in to evil for a single moment, as a consequence of a combination of relationships, environment, fate, and other circumstances, and are not really bad by nature. Many are first-time offenders and once held regular jobs. The average reality of death row inmates is that they have returned to their ordinary selves.

October 29, 2001 (Monday)
They installed seven sockets in the hallway for television sets. This is to allow them to bring TV sets in the rooms of the inmates whose sentences have been confirmed. Since the conditions are now arranged for us to watch TV more often, and to watch TV on holidays, I hope they allow us to do so. Watching TV really helps us to stabilize our emotions.

A whole series of meetings by my support group are coming up. On October 28 the Kyushu Bloc had a rally, and there are others scheduled: one by the Kanto Bloc on November 11, the secretariat on November 16, and the Kansai Bloc on December 12. They are being held at the initiative of Ms. S. I think I will be placing a lot of strain on my supporters before the secretariat gets into gear, but once we've completed that, the group will be able to move onto working toward a new trial. We will give you updates on the activities of the secretariat through the "Secretariat Newsletter."

October 30, 2001 (Tuesday)
Yesterday (the 29th), the three legislative bills related to terrorism were passed into law. With this, the Self-Defense Forces will be sent to battlefields all over the world. They may say that they will only be used for logistical support, but being in a war zone inevitably entails the risk of becoming involved in combat. And in that case they will kill, and be killed. In the Constitution, it says that Japan will not maintain military forces. However, Japan has one of the strongest armies in the world.

In addition, the Constitution stipulates that "cruel punishment by public servants is absolutely prohibited," but in fact they use the "punishment of murder," and go as far as to use the atrocious method of tying a rope around inmates' necks and dropping them. Thus, the Constitution is being ignored. From some point in time it has become possible for the ruling parties to pass law after law without any support from the opposition. There is hardly any resistance from the opposition. This is surely a dangerous situation.

Finally this morning, they distributed small plates to all the inmates, so that we can have pickled plums and radishes in the morning.

October 31, 2001 (Wednesday)
I had been on special diet of rice gruel (sick food) ever since I experienced chest pains on October 25, but today they put me back on regular food. I'm happy, because the rice gruel is light and unsatisfying, and doesn't give you energy. My chest pains went away. I think they were caused by an accumulation of stress and frustration. At one time, my blood pressure was 180 over 160, and I was surprised by the pulsing pain in my chest and head.

Yesterday, a bill was submitted to the national assembly in Korea to abolish the death penalty. About 80% of the legislators there (from a variety of parties) are in favor of abolition, so it seems likely the bill will pass. However, it has to first go through the Judicial Committee of the Assembly, and it turns out that roughly 70% of the members of this committee are supporters of capital punishment. In Korea, not a single execution has taken place in the four years since Kim Dae Jung was inaugurated as president. In Taiwan, as well, they are moving towards abolition. If Japan, which considers itself to be Asia's major democracy, continues to implement the death penalty, criticism from abroad will only become stronger, and Japan will be isolated. Incidentally, the first country in Asia to abolish capital punishment was Cambodia.

In Korea, 60% of the population are in favor of the death penalty, but the Catholic Church is said to have campaigned fervently against it, reaching the point where a bill for abolition could be submitted. I very much hope that in Japan, as well, Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist and other groups will work harder to abolish capital punishment.

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