Tomohiro Kato has been hanged for a 2008 truck-ramming and knife bloodbath in Tokyo that claimed the lives of seven folks
Japan has executed a person convicted of killing seven folks and injuring ten others in a automobile crash and stabbing rampage in Tokyo 14 years in the past, Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa informed reporters on Tuesday.
In keeping with the minister, Tomohiro Kato, 39, was hanged on the Tokyo Detention Middle. In June 2008, Kato drove a truck right into a crowd of pedestrians within the Akihabara procuring district, taking the lives of three folks and injuring two. He then stepped out of the automobile and stabbed a number of bystanders with a dagger, killing 4 and wounding one other eight.
Furukawa mentioned that underneath the circumstances, the demise penalty is justified. In keeping with the official, Kato made cautious preparations for his crime, “an atrocious act that led to extraordinarily severe penalties and had a significant influence on society.”
After his arrest in 2008, Kato defined his actions to police, saying he was “bored with life.” “I got here to Akihabara to kill folks. It didn’t matter who I’d kill,” he mentioned. He admitted guilt, additionally saying he was upset by on-line bullying.
Kato was sentenced to demise in 2011 by the Tokyo District Courtroom, with the choose saying the killer had failed to point out “a shred of humanity“. Kato’s attraction was dismissed by Japan’s Supreme Courtroom in 2015.
Japan is likely one of the few developed nations to implement the demise penalty. Executions are carried out by hanging and are normally reserved for aggravated murders. In such circumstances, inmates normally spend years on demise row, and are given only some hours’ discover earlier than being escorted to the gallows.
Public help for the demise penalty stays excessive in Japan, with 80% supporting the measure, in line with a authorities ballot performed in November 2019.
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