Japan hangs man convicted of killing 5 people at pachinko parlor

Japan carried out its first execution under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government on Friday, hanging Sunao Takami, who was convicted of a 2009 arson attack that killed five people. The incident involved Takami setting fire to a crowded pachinko parlor in Osaka by spreading gasoline and igniting it, resulting in five deaths and ten injuries.

“

It caused extremely serious outcomes and dealt a major shock and fear to the society. The victims whose lives were taken away must have felt unimaginable pain and fear, and those who suffered injuries ... were forced to live with long-term effects.

Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi stated that the crime caused "extremely serious outcomes" and inflicted "unimaginable pain and fear" on the victims and their families. He confirmed that the execution followed "careful and thorough considerations." Takami, 58, was sentenced to death in 2011, with his appeals rejected by the Supreme Court in 2016.

The execution brings Japan's death row population to 100, with 43 individuals seeking retrials. The country faces increasing criticism over its use of capital punishment, especially as many nations have abolished it. Japan and the United States are the only G7 members that still practice executions. Calls for greater transparency and abolition have intensified, particularly after the 2024 acquittal of Iwao Hakamada, the world's longest-serving death-row inmate.

“

As justice minister, I have ordered an execution after careful and thorough considerations.

Executions in Japan are conducted in secrecy, with prisoners informed only on the morning of their hanging. While Japan has disclosed names and some details of those executed since 2007, further transparency is resisted by officials like Hiraguchi, who argues it would disturb the mental state of death-row inmates. Hiraguchi defended hanging as a method, citing past Supreme Court rulings that it is not crueler than other methods. Surveys indicate that the majority of Japanese people support the death penalty.

“

hanging is not considered more cruel than other methods of execution such as lethal injections, electrocution and shooting.