A Japanese radio broadcaster said Wednesday that it would air a 1955 
recording of a death row inmate's final hours, including the moment he was 
hanged.
No sounds or images from actual executions have previously been broadcast in 
Japan, a justice ministry official said, adding that the authenticity of the 
recording was unknown.

Nippon Culture Broadcasting, which has listeners in Tokyo and its 
surrounding areas, will air the 55-minute programme on May 6, said Katsuhiko 
Shimizu, who was involved in the production.

The documentary features the unidentified male inmate being told he would be 
executed that day, he said. Listeners may also hear his last conversation 
with a prison official as Buddhist sutras are heard in the background. The 
official has yet to give his consent that part being broadcast.

Shimizu said the tape was recorded at the Osaka detention house in western 
Japan, partly for the education of prison officials. He did not disclose how 
the company obtained it.

The Osaka detention centre said it had no knowledge of such a recording.

"We are surprised about the reported tape," spokesman Masami Akashi said. 
"We have no idea about it and no written record of it."

Japan, the only major industrial country other than the United States to use 
the death penalty, only informs death row inmates when they will be hanged 
on the day of the execution.

Last week Japan hanged four convicted murderers as it stepped up the pace of 
executions.

Shimizu said the company decided to air the recording as "people know too 
little about executions".

"As it's almost a year to go to the introduction of a lay judge system in 
Japan, we want to give people an opportunity to think about the possibility 
that they may be in the position to decide on a death penalty," he said.


--
It is simply breathtaking to watch the glee and abandon with which
the liberal media and the Angry Left have been attempting to turn
our military victory in Iraq into a second Vietnam quagmire. Too bad
for them, it's failing.