The importance of analysing the death penalty and state-imposed executions is derived from their concerning the right to life, and their retaining wide-spread support throughout retentionist, abolitionist de facto, and abolitionist states worldwide. Discrepancies in the execution rates of retentionist states appear reducible to their serving symbolic or pragmatic functions i.e. they are used primarily to validate public opinion or primarily to deter crime. Prima facie, Japan seems akin to a symbolic state, due to its low execution rate and its official justification for both retaining the death penalty and continuing to use executions i.e. doing otherwise would be undemocratic. However, the practices that surround executions in Japan shroud them in secrecy and silence, which appears at odds with both its apparent symbolic function and this justification. This makes Japan a uniquely important case study for research on practices surrounding executions. Understanding why this contradiction exists will entail a more nuanced understanding of the ways in which the death penalty, executions, and the practices surrounding them, can function in retentionist states. This essay aids such understanding by critically analysing this official justification and various other arguments for why this might be the case and advancing an alternative explanation.

中文翻译：

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神秘的象征主义？死刑、处决和日本

分析死刑和国家处决的重要性源于它们对生命权的关注，以及它们在全世界保留死刑、事实上废除死刑和废除死刑的国家中保持广泛的支持。保留死刑的国家执行率的差异似乎可以归结为它们的象征或实用功能，即它们主要用于验证公众舆论或主要用于威慑犯罪。从表面上看，日本似乎类似于一个象征性的国家，因为它的处决率很低，而且官方有理由保留死刑并继续使用死刑，否则这样做是不民主的。然而，围绕日本处决的做法将他们笼罩在秘密和沉默中，这似乎与其明显的象征功能和这种正当性不一致。这使得日本成为研究处决实践的独特重要案例研究。理解为什么存在这种矛盾将需要更细致地理解死刑、处决和围绕它们的做法在保留死刑国家中发挥作用的方式。本文通过批判性分析这一官方理由和各种其他论点来帮助理解为什么会出现这种情况，并提出了另一种解释。以及围绕它们的做法，可以在保留主义国家发挥作用。本文通过批判性分析这一官方理由和各种其他论点来帮助理解为什么会出现这种情况，并提出了另一种解释。以及围绕它们的做法，可以在保留主义国家发挥作用。本文通过批判性分析这一官方理由和各种其他论点来帮助理解为什么会出现这种情况，并提出了另一种解释。