The sun set on three murderers in the Land of the Rising Sun today, the AP reports. What kind of crime gets one executed in Japan? Pretty much the same as here: (1) murder of a prior rape victim in retaliation for reporting the crime; (2) rape and murder in two separate cases; and (3) murder of two people and attempted murder of a third.

The anti side likes to say that having the death penalty places the United States "in the same category" as dictatorial regimes such as China and Iran. That fatuous argument creates the categories for the purpose of the desired result by focusing on whether a country has the death penalty and ignoring far more important variables, including whether the justice system provides basic due process of law and whether it punishes criminally political dissent and exercise of religion. If we wanted to place countries into categories, we would begin with the most important variable, due process, and then create further subdivisions with lesser variables down the line.

As a country that provides due process and has the death penalty but only for murder (and theoretically major crimes against national security and possibly rape of children), the United States would be in the same category as Japan. I'm okay with that.

Europe criticizes the fact that the Japanese don't tell the inmate's family until after the execution. Yes, they should change that, but Europe will criticize them regardless.