"The government should suspend executions on 57 death row inmates until the problematic system of the nation's capital punishment is improved and public debate over it reaches a certain consensus," the JFBA noted in a statement submitted to Justice Minister Daizo Nozawa.

It marks the first time that the largest lawyers' group has requested that executions be suspended beforehand, according to its sources.

The Japan Times Weekly: June 19, 2004
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