Jump to contentAllNewsSportCultureLifestyleSunao Takami, right, is shown leaving a police station in Osaka in 2009 (AFP/Getty)Japan has executed 58-year-old Sunao Takami by hanging over a 2009 arson attack at an Osaka pachinko parlour that killed five people and injured 10 others. Takami was convicted of murder, attempted murder, and arson in 2011, with his final appeal to the Supreme Court being rejected in 2016. Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi defended ordering the execution after careful consideration, citing the severe pain and shock the crime inflicted on society. Executed in secret under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's administration, the hanging drew criticism for taking place during a parliamentary recess to avoid debate. Japan currently has 100 inmates on death row and remains, alongside the United States, one of only two G7 nations using capital punishment. In fullJapan secretly executes arsonist for deadly Osaka gaming venue fireMore bulletinsThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
Man who killed five at gaming parlour in Japan is executed
Jump to contentAllNewsSportCultureLifestyleSunao Takami, right, is shown leaving a police station in Osaka in 2009 (AFP/Getty)Japan has executed 58-year-old Sunao Takami by hanging over a 2009 arson attack at an Osaka pachinko parlour that killed five people and injured 10 others. Takami was convicted of murder, attempted murder, and arson in 2011, with his final appeal to the Supreme Court being rejected in 2016. Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi defended ordering the execution after careful consideration, citing the severe pain and shock the crime inflicted on society. Executed in secret under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's administration, the hanging drew criticism for taking place during a parliamentary recess to avoid debate. Japan currently has 100 inmates on death row and remains, alongside the United States, one of only two G7 nations using capital punishment. In fullJapan secretly executes arsonist for deadly Osaka gaming venue fireMore bulletinsThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
