Japan executes prisoner who killed 7 in Tokyo street rampage

TOKYO (AP) — Japan on Tuesday executed a guy who killed 7 men and women in a car crash and stabbing rampage in a crowded Tokyo buying district in 2008.

Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa advised reporters that Tomohiro Kato was hanged at the Tokyo detention center before Tuesday.

Japan has maintained the loss of life penalty inspite of growing worldwide criticism. Furukawa said money punishment was a justified response to continuing heinous and violent criminal offense and scrapping it wasn’t appropriate at this point.

Furukawa said Kato experienced completely geared up to commit the mass killings — “an atrocious act that led to extremely major outcomes and experienced a key influence on modern society.”

In the assault, Kato drove down his truck on a road in the Akihabara electronics browsing spot, slamming into a group of folks and killing 3 pedestrians in June 2008. He then received out of the automobile and stabbed 4 folks to death. He injured or wounded 10 other folks.

Surveillance footage aired by countrywide broadcaster NHK afterward confirmed Kato obtaining hunting knives two times before the assault, laughing with a keep worker and at situations creating stabbing motions with his palms. Media experiences also mentioned he had posted on web concept boards several despondent messages and warnings that he was organizing to kill persons in a mass attack.

Kato, 39, was sentenced to loss of life in 2011 by the Tokyo District Court, and the Supreme Court docket turned down his enchantment in 2015.

Furukawa denied Tuesday’s hanging was connected to the capturing death of previous Key Minister Shinzo Abe previously this thirty day period, which shocked the nation regarded for rigid gun controls and very low criminal offense fee.

Tuesday’s hanging was the 2nd beneath the authorities of Key Minister Fumio Kishida, who took office environment in Oct.

Japan now has 107 folks on dying row, like 61 searching for retrials, Furukawa said.

Japan and the U.S. are the only two international locations in the Group of 7 state-of-the-art nations that keep cash punishment. A survey by the Japanese authorities showed an mind-boggling the vast majority of the public supports executions.

Tale carries on

Executions are carried out in large secrecy in Japan, exactly where prisoners are not educated of their destiny right until the morning they are hanged. Considering the fact that 2007, Japan has begun disclosing the names of these executed and some facts of their crimes, but disclosures are nevertheless minimal.

3 prisoners had been hanged in 2021.

In 2018, Japan hanged 15 folks, which includes the guru of the Aum Shinrikyo cult and 12 former followers convicted in the sarin gasoline attack on the Tokyo subway that killed 13 men and women and sickened countless numbers.