Japan has executed a man convicted of serially killing and dismembering nine people in his apartment near Tokyo in 2017. About this informs Bloomberg.
Dubbed the “Twitter Killer” in the media, Takahiro Shiraishi was sentenced to death in 2020 for the murders of nine people between the ages of 15 and 26. Most of them shared suicidal thoughts on social networks. He was also found guilty of raping women, whom he later killed.
Shiraishi was executed by hanging in the Tokyo Detention Center. This is the first execution in the country since July 2022. It comes amid growing public debate over the abolition of the death penalty, especially after the acquittal in 2024 of Ivao Hakamada, the man who spent the most time on death row in the world.
Shiraishi was arrested in 2017 when police found the bodies of eight women and one man hidden in refrigerators in his apartment. The investigation established that he found victims through Twitter, promising them help in realizing suicidal intentions. After the rape, he killed eight women and also killed the boyfriend of one of them.
Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki, who signed the execution decree, emphasized that the decision was made taking into account the “extremely selfish” motives of the convict, whose brutality caused a significant public outcry.
It is the first execution under Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s government, which took office last October. It was also the first execution since the execution of the man who committed the attack in the shopping district of Akihabara in 2008.
It will be recalled that in September 2024, a Japanese court acquitted Iwao Hakamada, who was wrongfully convicted almost six decades ago.
In Japan, the death penalty is carried out by hanging, and the condemned are notified of the execution only a few hours before it takes place. This practice is criticized by human rights organizations because of its psychological cruelty. According to the Minister of Justice, as of today there are 105 people sentenced to death in Japan.
