The importance of experience

A Japanese friend of mine graduated from a prestigious Japanese university and was hired by Japan Railways (JR). Like in Singapore, graduates of top universities in Japan can expect permanent employment for life in a major Japanese company with an elite career guiding them to upper management. Yet for his first training rotation, my friend was assigned to learn to drive a bullet train (‘shinkansen’). He probably never operated a train by himself, but for a few months he was apprenticed to a licensed train operator, living and learning the job. This kind of training is grounded on the belief that a good business decisions can only be made by upper management if you understand all aspects of your business. Only a CEO who has experienced the job of a train driver will understand how his decision to increase train frequency may affect the drivers.

Current Justice Minister Keiko Chiba made this point last week. While Japan has the death penalty, it has not executed anyone for years. Previous Justice Ministers who were staunch Budhists have hesitated to sign the execution orders, leaving many waiting in jail on death row. Hopes were high when Keiko Chiba, a staunch abolitionist of the death penalty, was appointed in September 2010. Yet she did the unthinkable when she signed for the execution of 2 people this past week, defying all expectations. What was more surprising, was that she attended and witnessed the executions in person. Ms Chiba reiterated that she had not changed her mind about the death penalty, and that since the execution was being carried out by her orders, she thus believed that it was her responsibility to see it with her own eyes. "Witnessing [them] with my own eyes made me think deeply about the death penalty, and I once again strongly felt that there is a need for a fundamental discussion.”

I was impressed with the humility of Ms Chiba when I first read the news. Despite the fact that she seems to have made up her mind against the death penalty, she performed her duty as the law states, and witnessed the act herself to fully understand the impact of her decision. It may take only one second to sign her name on the execution order, but by being there herself, Ms Chiba launched herself into the debate. Perhaps she will change her mind after witnessing the depravity of the criminals, or perhaps she will come out of it more determined to abolish the death penalty. Whatever her decision, we know that Ms Chiba will have thought deeply about the issue, not from the comfort of her office chair, but from the discomfort of seeing someone die in front of her.

Ms Chiba also announced the formation of a study group to relook the necessity of the death penalty in Japanese society. Even though polls show majority of the public are in favor of the death penalty, Ms Chiba is also opening the gallows to viewing by journalists, in the hopes that this will prompt a meaningful public discussion about the topic. If Ms Chiba’s intentions are successful, Japan will take a huge step towards a mature democracy. It is easy to be in favor of the death penalty when one is not faced with the sight of the gallows, the face of the criminal and the family of the convict. Similarly, It is also not a balanced debate until one hears from the family of the victims. While the story of the victim is often portrayed in the media, the side of the convict is rarely represented.

Now I take the topic back to Singapore’s debate of the death penalty. We should make it the job of the Law Minister to witness the hanging of a convict. We should also open the gallows for National Education field trips. On top of going to SAFTI to learn about total defense, we should also make it mandatory for our students to tour our jails and our gallows. This not only serves as a possible deterrant to would-be criminals, but it will reignite the debate of capital punishment. We may even get more interesting GP essays that go beyond toeing the party line. A true democracy is a state where the citizens decide, not based on fear or indoctrination, the laws of the land. While she may fail on other issues, our Law Minister has much to learn from Ms Chiba in the case of the death penalty.