HARADA Masaharu

I can't forget that day.  It was January 24, 1983.  That was when my 
brother died.  He was a truck driver and 30 years old at the time of the 
"traffic accident".

I have one sister and two brothers.  I grew up in Aichi prefecture, the 
central part of Japan and was 36 years old at the "accident". My name is 
HARADA, Masaharu.  

The next year, May of 1984, to my astonishment, the "traffic accident" 
turned out to be a murder case for insurance fraud.  Moreover, the 
company president, for whom my brother was working, was principal in the 
crime with two other accomplices.  This president visited us many times 
from the day of the funeral service to his arrest.  I knew his face as 
he took me to the place my brother was killed, and as he came over to 
our home to borrow money.  I did not know the other two at all.  Yes, 
they deceived my mother and me for one year and three months until their 
arrests.  

In July 1983, the first trial began and it continued to be appealed to 
the regional court, the higher court, and to the Supreme Court.  Since 
then I received letters from the company president for 10 years.  The 
people he asked have visited my brother's grave on his behalf.  And I 
decided to visit him from my side too.  It was August of 1993, ten years 
after the murder.  

In Japan if the death sentence is confirmed, you are not allowed to meet 
the prisoners on death row.  At first, I was given special permission to 
meet him, but permission was denied in 1996.  I cannot meet him anymore. 
 Why?  I wonder about the reality of our rights which are not truly 
reflected in our society.  This present practice deprives the offender 
the opportunity to make an apology to the victim.  As a member of the 
victim's family, I would like to think about the death penalty with you.