CAT/C/JPN/CO/2 Taking into account the provisions of the Convention and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, the Committee urges the State party to: (a) Revise its legislation in order to ensure that solitary confinement remains as a measure of last resort, for as short a time as possible under strict supervision and with a possibility of judicial review. The State party should establish clear and specific criteria for the decision of isolation; (b) Establish a system of regular monitoring and review of the detainee’s physical and mental condition by qualified medical personnel throughout the period of solitary confinement, and release such medical records to the detainees and their legal counsel; (c) Increase the level of psychological meaningful social contact for detainees while in solitary confinement; (d) Evaluate and assess the existing practice of the use of solitary confinement, and also provide specific and disaggregated information on the use and conditions of solitary confinement. Death penalty 15. The Committee is deeply concerned about the conditions of detention of prisoners on death row in the State party, in particular with respect to: (a) The unnecessary secrecy and uncertainty surrounding the execution of prisoners sentenced to death. As referred to by the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, refusing to provide convicted persons and family members advance notice of the date and time of execution is a clear human rights violation (E/CN.4/2006/53/Add.3, para. 32); (b) The use of solitary confinement for persons sentenced to death, often for extended periods of time, even exceeding 30 years in some cases, and limited contact with the outside; (c) Interference with the right to assistance by legal counsel, including the limited confidential access to lawyer; (d) The lack of a mandatory appeal system for capital cases given that an increasing number of defendants convicted and sentenced to death without exercising their right of appeal; (e) The non-use of the power of pardon since 2007 and the absence of transparency concerning procedures for seeking benefit for pardon, commutation or reprieve; (f) Reports about executions carried out even if the person was determined by a court to be mentally ill, as in the case of Seiha Fujima, in contradiction of article 479(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedures which prohibits the execution of a detainee in a state of insanity (arts. 2, 11 and 16). In light of the previous recommendations made by the Committee (para. 17), the Human Rights Committee (CCPR/C/GC/32, para. 38) as well as the communication sent by the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions (A/HRC/14/24/Add.1, paras.515 ff), the Committee urges the State party to ensure that death row inmates are afforded all the legal safeguards and protections provided by the Convention, inter alia, by: (a) Giving death row inmates and their family reasonable advance notice of the scheduled date and time of the execution; 6