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This book examines public attitudes to the death penalty in Japan, focusing on knowledge and trust-based attitudinal factors relating to support for, and opposition to, the death penalty. A mixed-method approach was used. Quantitative and qualitative surveys were mounted to assess Japanese death penalty attitudes. The main findings show that death penalty attitudes are not fixed but fluid. Information has a significant impact on reducing support for the death penalty while retributive attitudes are associated with support. This book offers a new conceptual framework in understanding the death penalty without replying on the usual human rights approach, which can be widely applied not just to Japan but to other retentionist countries.

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Vox populi, vox dei?.- Public attitudes towards death penalty.- The undecided public.- Effect of information on attitudes.- Changes in attitudes.- Policy implications.

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From the book reviews:
"The objective of this book is to challenge, using empirical research, the Japanese government´s argument that it cannot abolish the death penalty because the vast majority of Japanese people are support it. ... the book is essential reading for all those with an interest in issues surrounding the death penalty and surveys of public opinion. It is sure to cause a major stir in debate over the death penalty in Japan." (Koichi Hamai, Social Science Japan Journal, Vol. 18 (1), January, 2015)

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Mai Sato completed her PhD at King´s College London in 2011. She is currently a Research Fellow at the Institute for Criminal Policy Research, Birkbeck, University of London, and a Research Officer at the Centre for Criminology, University of Oxford.

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