Interesting death penalty flip-flop in Japan

This interesting news item from Japan concerning the administration of the death penalty caught my eye:

New Justice Minister Seiken Sugiura said Monday he would not sign any orders for executions, but later retracted his comments. Sugiura, a licensed lawyer who previously served as vice chairman of the Tokyo Dai-Ichi Bar Association, also said he believes the social trend is for the eventual abolition of capital punishment.

He said he will not sign such orders because of his personal "philosophy."  He later issued a statement, however, in which he said his remarks do not refer to implementation of his function as justice minister, effectively withdrawing them.

More background on the death penalty in Japan and on this interesting flip-flop can be found in additional articles here and here.