Japanese Asahi Newspaper reported on August 21st that Japanese Minister of Justice, Hiroki Piko held an emergency press conference and announced the execution of a man who had set fire to a game parlor in 2009, killing five people. This is Japan's first execution this year, and it is also the first instance under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's tenure.
The person who was executed this time is 58-year-old Takami Suji. It is reported that he spilled gasoline and set fire in a pinball arcade near his residence in Osaka, resulting in the death of 4 customers and 1 employee, and 10 others were injured either slightly or severely. He surrendered the day after the incident and was charged with crimes such as homicide and arson.
During the trial, the defense argued that Gao Jian had limited criminal responsibility capacity due to delusions at the time of the incident. A panel of six jurors and three judges rejected this claim regarding mental illness in the second instance, and in 2011, Gao Jian was sentenced to execution by hanging.
From the time of committing the crime to execution by death penalty, it has passed 17 years.
In Japan, death row inmates usually only learn about their scheduled execution a few hours before the execution takes place.
On July 21st, Pingkou Yang stated: "After a careful and thorough deliberation, we have ordered the execution of capital punishment."
One week after the incident, Japanese citizens presented flower bouquets at the scene. The image is from the Asahi News.
In June last year, Japan also executed Shigeharu Shiraishi, known as the "Twitter killer", by hanging.
The man searched for users with suicidal thoughts on Twitter (now X platform) and actively contacted the victims, claiming to be able to help them commit suicide. He even promised to die with them. From late August to late October 2017, he tricked nine victims into an apartment where they were strangled, and then destroyed their bodies to cover up the evidence.
Surveys show that Japanese people strongly support the death penalty.
The British BBC reported on the incident, stating that "human rights organizations criticized the authorities for keeping death row inmates in solitary confinement for long periods," and believed that the timing of executions lacked transparency.
