Biomaterial Database

Four newly established legal requisites for active euthanasia in Japan. 1996

K Hoshino

International Bioethics Research Center, Kyoto Women's University, Japan.

On March 28, 1995 at the Yokohama District Court in Japan, four legal requisites for active euthanasia were newly established by the chief judge, when he rendered the judgment on the murder case of a physician, Tokunaga. The case has been reported by the news media as a so-called euthanasia. In order to make the legal distinction between murder and euthanasia for this case, the 1962 six legal requisites for euthanasia established 33 years ago at the Nagoya High Court in Japan were revised into the four new legal requisites. The judgment was influenced by the current international situation and Japanese sentiment concerning euthanasia.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007564	Japan	A country in eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula. The capital is Tokyo.	Bonin Islands
D003657	Decision Making	The process of making a selective intellectual judgment when presented with several complex alternatives consisting of several variables, and usually defining a course of action or an idea.	Credit Assignment,Assignment, Credit,Assignments, Credit,Credit Assignments
D004992	Ethics, Medical	The principles of professional conduct concerning the rights and duties of the physician, relations with patients and fellow practitioners, as well as actions of the physician in patient care and interpersonal relations with patient families.	Medical Ethics
D005065	Euthanasia	The act or practice of killing or allowing death from natural causes, for reasons of mercy, i.e., in order to release a person from incurable disease, intolerable suffering, or undignified death. (from Beauchamp and Walters, Contemporary Issues in Bioethics, 5th ed)	Mercy Killing,Killing, Mercy,Killings, Mercy,Mercy Killings
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D013727	Terminal Care	Medical and nursing care of patients in the terminal stage of an illness.	End-Of-Life Care,End of Life Care,Care, End-Of-Life,Care, Terminal,End-Of-Life Cares
D017410	Practice Guidelines as Topic	Works about directions or principles presenting current or future rules of policy for assisting health care practitioners in patient care decisions regarding diagnosis, therapy, or related clinical circumstances. The guidelines may be developed by government agencies at any level, institutions, professional societies, governing boards, or by the convening of expert panels. The guidelines form a basis for the evaluation of all aspects of health care and delivery.	Clinical Guidelines as Topic,Best Practices,Best Practice