Japan executes man who killed five in pachinko parlour arson attack

Japan carried out the execution of Sunao Takami, 58, on Friday for setting fire to a pachinko gaming parlour near his home in Osaka in 2009. The attack, in which he doused the venue with gasoline before igniting it, killed four customers and one employee.

In 2011, a six-member jury sitting alongside a panel of three judges rejected the defence's claim that Takami was mentally ill at the time of the crime, sentencing him to death by hanging.

Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi said the decision to proceed with the execution followed careful and thorough consideration. It is the first execution to take place under the Takaichi administration and the first in Japan in more than a year.

The previous execution occurred in June last year, when Takahiro Shiraishi, known as the "Twitter killer", was put to death for murdering and dismembering nine people in 2017. His crimes came to light in October of that year, when police searching for one victim discovered body parts in Zama, a city near Tokyo.

Criticism over lack of transparency

Japan and the United States remain the only G7 nations that still carry out capital punishment. Death-row inmates in Japan are typically given only a few hours' notice before their hanging.

Public opinion surveys indicate strong support for the death penalty within Japanese society. Rights organisations, however, have criticised authorities for keeping condemned prisoners in solitary confinement for extended periods and for a lack of transparency regarding the timing of executions.