The truck collided with the crowd – seven people died
Mass murderer executed in Japan
Tomohiro K. In the summer of 2008, seven people were killed in a stampede in Japan. He drove the truck into the crowd. For this K. was sentenced to death. Now he has been hanged.
A man who killed seven people in the 2008 shooting in the capital Tokyo has been put to death in Japan. Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa, 56, on Tuesday confirmed the country’s first execution this year. He approved the execution of the death penalty after “extremely careful consideration”.
The now executed Tomohiro K.* (†39) rammed a mob into a truck in Akihabara District on June 8, 2008. Then the 25-year-old youth indiscriminately attacked the passers-by. He killed seven people and injured ten others before being arrested.
After his arrest, he told police: “I came to Akihabara to kill people. It doesn’t matter who I killed.”
death penalty should not be abolished
She had previously announced her actions on the internet, complaining about her loneliness and her unstable job. He apologized in court for the crime. Kato was sentenced to death in 2011, but the country’s Supreme Court upheld the sentence in 2015.
Japan is one of the few industrialized countries that still retains the death penalty. Justice Minister Furukawa said on Tuesday that its abolition was “not justified”. “Horrible crimes like gang murder and robbery are still a regular occurrence,” he said.
More than 100 prisoners are on death row
The three convicts were hanged in December after a gap of two years. This was the first execution under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (64).
In Japan, executions are carried out, usually several years after the sentence – and sometimes only hours after the prisoners have been informed of the upcoming execution. There are currently more than 100 prisoners on death row in Japan.
Human rights groups have repeatedly criticized Japan’s adherence to the death penalty. However, there is widespread popular support for the death penalty. (AFP/JMH)
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