| Even though there is a global trend towards the abolition of the death penalty, Japan and China still retain this ultimate punishment. The investigation of problems in the Japanese and Chinese legal systems associated with the death penalty offers interesting lessons for Chinese legal reformists. To establish the rule of law and to further reform its system of the death penalty, China has to investigate its own social reality. The gradual abolition of the death penalty is realistic and workable for China. But in the meantime, introducing a legal transplant may be a useful method to expedite its legal development. Among the various factors involved, it seems that international pressure may in the end play a crucial role leading to the abolition of the death penalty in these two countries. |
