In Secrecy, Japan Hangs a Best-Selling Author, a Killer of 4

The New York Times

August 7, 1997

The Japanese knew a lot about Norio Nagayama's life. After all, he had 30 years in prison to write about why he went on the killing rampage that earned him a death sentence.

But few knew of his death. When he finally died for his crimes, his ex-wife, his lawyer and others received word only when it was leaked to newspapers.

Hanged last week at a Tokyo detention center, Mr. Nagayama has become a cause celebre for a growing number of people who say the secretive way Japan handles exeutions is a miscarriage of justice.

''Executions in Japan are extremely cruel,'' the human rights group Amnesty International said. ''They are carried out in secret, without the knowledge of families and appear to be inflicted in an arbitrary fashion.''

Mr. Nagayama, who became a best-selling author while in prison, was hanged on Friday, the same day as three other death-row inmates -- one in Tokyo and two in Sapporo. They were the first executions in Japan this year.

Further details are extremely hard to come by. Instead of formal confirmation by the Justice Ministry, news of hangings is generally leaked to the news media, or provided by the relatives or lawyers of the persons executed. Government policy is not to announce pending executions or confirm that one has taken place.

A Justice Ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Government refrains from comment out of deference to the survivors of the crimes and to the families of those put to death. But critics say officials are simply afraid of scrutiny.

''The Government wants to keep the information away from the public so that it can't be subjected to criticism,'' said Yoshihiro Yasuda, a defense lawyer.

Mr. Nagayama, aged 19 and thus a minor under Japanese law, broke into a home on a United States Navy base just south of Tokyo in October 1968 and stole a .22-caliber pistol and 50 bullets. Over the next month, he killed four people in four cities. He was caught in April 1969 while trying to break into a school in Tokyo.

While awaiting a verdict in prison, he wrote his first book, the autobiographical ''Tears of Ignorance,'' which became a best seller in 1971. He gave the royalties to the survivors of his victims.

He was found guilty as an adult and sentenced to die in 1979, but married the next year and won an appeal in 1981 commuting his sentence to life imprisonment.

His second book, the semi-autobiographical novel ''Wooden Bridge,'' won the Japan Literature Award in 1983. Later that year, the Supreme Court upheld an appeal by the prosecutors questioning the reduction in Mr. Nagayama's sentence.

Mr. Nagayama was divorced in 1986, and in 1987 again sentenced to die.

''His execution was completely unfair,'' Makoto Endo, Mr. Nagayama's lawyer, said.

Japan carried out no executions between 1989 and 1993, but has hanged 25 people since then. Some 40 inmates are believed to be on death row. According to Makoto Endo, most remain there for 10 years or more and are not told of their pending execution until 10 A.M. on the day it is to be carried out.

Apart from the debate over the larger issues, the eldest son of one man killed by Mr. Nagayama said his hanging succeeded in one way. ''I feel it is finally over,'' said Toichi Katsumi, whose father was shot to death at a shrine in the western Japanese city of Kyoto.

Norio Nagayama

Norio Nagayama, who was convicted of killing 4 people in a cross-country murder spree in 1968, made a final gesture of goodwill just before he was executed Friday, Nagayama's attorney told reporters Monday.

Nagayama, 48, who was hanged at the Tokyo Detention House, said he wants the royalties of his last novel, "Hana," to be distributed to poor children in Japan and overseas, particularly Peru, the attorney, Makoto Endo, said.

He made the plea when asked by executioners for any last words, the attorney said.

"Hana" is a novel that the prisoner wrote between March 1995 and June this year. It is an autobiographic novel about a homeless man, the sources said.

Nagayama, who was from a poor family, sent excerpts of the novel to a woman in Gifu Prefecture who acted as a parent for the convicted killer, the sources said. The chapters kept arriving until this spring.

Nagayama was known for writing novels in detention. One of his works won a literary award.

Officers of the detention house in Tokyo's Katsushika Ward handed Nagayama's ashes, bones and his belongings to Endo. They also told Endo of Nagayama's last words.

Endo said Nagayama's former wife, whom he married while in prison in December 1980, asked for some of his ashes. Their marriage lasted for about six years. Some of the ashes will be placed in Nagayama family's tomb in Aomori Prefecture, Endo said.

Other ashes will be kept by the former wife and Endo. The remainder will be scattered in the Sea of Okhotsk in northern Hokkaido, as requested in Nagayama's will, Endo said.

Nagayama was convicted of killing 4 people in 1968 with a gun he stole from the U.S. naval base in Yokosuka when he was 19.

His victims were a hotel guard in Tokyo, a guard at a shrine in Kyoto, a taxi driver in Hokkaido and another cab driver in Nagoya.

He was sentenced to death by the Tokyo District Court in 1979, which triggered a national debate on capital punishment, in part because in Japan, 19 is still considered to be the age of a minor.

The Supreme Court rejected Nagayama's final appeal, upholding his death sentence in 1990.

Japan debates its use of the death penalty

By Eric Talmadge

Thu, 7 Aug 1997

TOKYO (AP) - The Japanese knew a lot about Norio Nagayama's life. After all, he had 30 years in prison to write about why he went on a vicious killing spree that earned him a death sentence.

But few knew of his death - at least not right away.

When he finally died for his crimes, his ex-wife, his lawyer, and others who knew him received word only when it was leaked unofficially to newspapers.

Hanged last week at a Tokyo detention center, Nagayama has become a cause celebre for a growing number of people who say the secretive way Japan handles the death penalty is at best a miscarriage of justice, and at worst a national disgrace.

"Executions in Japan are extremely cruel - they are carried out in secret, without the knowledge of families and appear to be inflicted in an arbitrary fashion,'' said the London-based human rights group Amnesty International.

Nagayama, who became a best-selling author while in prison, was hanged with three other death-row inmates - one in Tokyo and two in the northern Japanese city of Sapporo - last Friday. They were the first executions in Japan this year.

Further details are extremely hard to come by.

Instead of formal confirmation by the Ministry of Justice, news of hangings generally is leaked to the media anonymously, or provided by the relatives or lawyers of the person executed.

Government policy is not to announce pending executions or confirm an execution has taken place.

A Justice Ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the government refrains from comment out of deference for the survivors of the crimes and the families of those put to death.

Critics, however, say officials are simply afraid of opening the process to scrutiny.

"The government wants to keep the information away from the public so that it can't be subjected to criticism,'' said Yoshihiro Yasuda, a defense lawyer and civil rights activist. "It is totally political.''

No one denies the brutality of Nagayama's crimes.

Nagayama, aged 19 and thus a minor under Japanese law, broke into a home on a U.S. Naval base just south of Tokyo in October 1968 and stole a .22 pistol and 50 bullets.

Over the next month, he killed four people in four different cities. After avoiding police for several months, he was caught in April 1969 while trying to break into an English school in Tokyo.

Nagayama's life after that was extraordinary.

While awaiting a verdict in prison, he wrote his first book, the autobiographical "Tears of Ignorance,'' which became a best seller in 1971. He gave the royalties to the survivors of his victims.

He was found guilty as an adult and sentenced to die in 1979, but married the following year and won an appeal in 1981 commuting his sentence to life imprisonment.

His second book, the semi-autobiographical novel "Wooden Bridge,'' won the prestigious Japan Literature Award in 1983. Later that year, however, the Supreme Court upheld an appeal by the prosecutors questioning the reduction in Nagayama's sentence.

Nagayama was divorced in 1986, and in 1987 sentenced, again, to die. His appeal process was exhausted in 1990.

"His execution was completely unfair,'' Makoto Endo, Nagayama's lawyer, told The Associated Press. "I didn't even know about it until I read the news in the papers.''

Japan performed no executions between 1989 and 1993, but has hanged 25 people since then. The executions are done on an irregular basis, making it impossible to predict when the next will be.

Some 40 inmates are believed to be on death row in Japan.

According to Endo, most remain there for 10 years or more and are not told of their pending execution until 10 a.m. on the day it is to be carried out.

Apart from the debate over the larger issues, however, the eldest son of one man killed by Nagayama said his hanging has at least succeeded in one way.