Japan executes by hanging ‘Twitter killer’ who murdered 9

Takahiro Shiraishi was hanged for the murders of 8 women and 1 antheral whose assemblage parts helium concealed successful his tiny apartment.

Japan has executed a antheral who was recovered blameworthy of killing and dismembering 9 people helium made interaction with connected societal media, the archetypal usage of superior punishment successful the state successful astir 3 years.

Takahiro Shiraishi was hanged connected Friday aft helium was sentenced to decease for the 2017 murders of 8 women and 1 antheral successful his flat successful Zama metropolis successful Kanagawa adjacent Tokyo.

He was dubbed the “Twitter killer” arsenic helium had contacted his victims via the societal media platform, present known arsenic X.

Shiraishi admitted to committing the murders aft reaching retired and offering to assistance radical – who were contemplating termination – to die. He had stashed bits of the bodies of his 9 victims successful coolers astir his tiny apartment, according to media reports.

Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki, who authorised Shiraishi’s hanging, said helium made the determination aft cautious introspection of the case, taking into relationship the convict’s “extremely selfish” motive for crimes that “caused large daze and unrest to society”.

Takahiro Shiraishi covers his look wrong a constabulary car successful Tokyo, successful this photograph taken by Kyodo successful November 2017 and released successful 2020 [Kyodo via Reuters]

The execution connected Friday was the archetypal successful Japan since July 2022 of a antheral sentenced to decease for a stabbing rampage successful Tokyo’s Akihabara buying territory successful 2008.

It was besides the archetypal clip the decease punishment was carried retired since Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s authorities was inaugurated past October.

Last September, a Japanese tribunal acquitted Iwao Hakamada, who had spent the world’s longest clip connected decease row. The tribunal recovered helium was wrongfully convicted of crimes committed astir 60 years ago.

One of the highest-profile executions successful Japan was carried retired successful 2018 of the guru Shoko Asahara and 12 erstwhile members of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult, which orchestrated the 1995 sarin state attacks connected Tokyo’s subway strategy that killed 14 radical and made thousands ill.

Capital punishment is carried retired by hanging successful Japan, and prisoners are notified of their execution conscionable hours earlier it is carried out, which has agelong been decried by quality rights groups for the accent it puts connected death-row prisoners.

Japan and the United States are the lone 2 members of the Group of Seven industrialised economies to clasp the decease penalty.

There is beardown nationalist enactment for the signifier successful Japan. A authorities survey successful 2024 of 1,800 respondents recovered that 83 percent viewed the decease punishment arsenic “unavoidable”.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies