Youth Forum Focuses on Abolition of Death Penalty

On December 14, marking Human Rights Day (December 10), the Eighth Annual Youth Forum was held under the theme “To Protect Life—A Dialogue on Justice and Human Rights” and focused on the abolition of the death penalty. The event was co-organized by Amnesty International Japan and the Soka Gakkai Peace Committee, with the support of the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC). Kaoru Nemoto, director of UNIC in Tokyo, delivered opening remarks in which she spoke about the UN’s advocacy for humanitarian reform on the death penalty, stating that capital punishment contradicts human dignity and the right to life. A video message from Mario Marazziti, co-founder of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, was screened. He outlined the current global trend toward abolishing and reviewing capital punishment, the most extreme form of destroying life.  

The video was followed by a discussion among five panelists including former prison guard Toshio Sakamoto, who said that a “genuine realization” of working with people who have been sentenced to death was that “people can change; every human being has the potential for improvement.” The topics discussed included phasing out the death penalty and increasing opportunities for younger generations to learn about its realities.