Tokyo: The Japanese government on Friday decided to pardon as many as 550,000 convicts on the occasion of Emperor Naruhito’s upcoming enthronement ceremony, state broadcaster NHK reported.
Pardons will only be issued to those who have been found guilty of minor crimes and finished their prison terms or paid fines, reported Sputnik.
The government while announcing the decision asserted that the nullifying of their penalties is meant to encourage the social reintegration of these people.
In addition, as many as 1,000 more people who were sentenced to long prison terms will be pardoned for humanitarian concerns over their serious illnesses.
In the wake of devastating typhoon Hagibis that has left a trail of destruction across the country, the Japanese government on Thursday decided to postpone the enthronement ceremony of Emperor Naruhito from October 22 to November 10.
Typhoon Hagibis made landfall on October 12 in the country damaging more than 10,000 homes. While dozens of people are still missing, at least 77 people were killed and over 346 others were injured.
