Japan executed on August 21, 2026 a man convicted of an arson attack on a pachinko parlour in 2009 that killed five people, authorities said.
Japan hanged on Friday a man convicted of a 2009 arson attack on an Osaka pachinko parlour that killed five people, with the prisoner as usual informed shortly before his execution.
It was Japan's first execution since Takahiro Shiraishi, the "Twitter killer" who murdered and dismembered nine people, was put to death in June 2025.
Sunao Takami doused the pachinko arcade – a mechanical game involving thousands of small steel balls – near his home with petrol and set it on fire, killing four customers and one employee.
"This incident resulted in extremely serious consequences... and sent shock waves through society and instilled a deep sense of fear," Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi said.
