Regarding the Dec. 26 front-page article "Four sent to the gallows": By having four death row inmates hanged on Christmas Day, Jinen Nagase, the current "justice" minister in Shinzo Abe's Cabinet, has shown utter contempt for all those Japanese citizens opposed to capital punishment.
He has also managed to give Japan a very dark image. The Japan office of Amnesty International must feel outrage over the callous timing of these executions. Would Nagase order such executions on Jan. 1, knowing that most Japanese would not like to hear or read about a hanging on such a peaceful holiday?
Nagase has displayed a calculated arrogance or lack of sensitivity toward all Christians in Japan, both Nihon-jin and foreign born. Where is his sense of decency? The convicted criminals he ordered executed have been on death row for many years. He could have waited another month or two before ordering that their death sentences be carried out.
What will the international community think of Prime Minister Abe's "beautiful country" after this Christmas horror? Perhaps Nagase should have ordered the executions to take place on Dec. 23, the Emperor's birthday! Wouldn't that have been more appropriate? After all, the Emperor is in favor of justice, too.