TOKYO — Japan executed a death-row inmate on Friday for the first time in 14 months, marking the initial capital punishment carried out under the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. The execution has reignited domestic and international discussions regarding the ethics, transparency, and future of the death penalty in the country.
According to the Ministry of Justice, 58-year-old Sunao Takami was hanged at the Osaka Detention House. Takami was convicted of a horrific mass murder and arson attack that took place on July 5, 2009, at a crowded pachinko parlor in Osaka’s Konohana Ward. Investigators and court records revealed that Takami poured gasoline inside the gaming venue and ignited it with a match, creating an inferno that engulfed the building. The attack resulted in the deaths of five people—including customers and a part-time employee—and left 10 others with severe injuries.
Following the incident, Takami turned himself in at a police station in Yamaguchi Prefecture the very next day. During subsequent psychological evaluations and court hearings, he stated that he had felt trapped by life circumstances after losing his job and failing to secure stable employment. Claiming he wanted to commit suicide, he chose to carry out an indiscriminate mass killing. During his citizen-participatory trial at the Osaka District Court in 2011, the defense argued that he suffered from mental illness and diminished capacity. However, both the initial court and subsequent higher courts rejected the argument, ruling that he possessed full criminal responsibility to distinguish right from wrong. His death sentence was finalized in 2016 when the Supreme Court dismissed his final appeal.
This enforcement is the first of its kind in over a year, following the June 2025 execution of Takahiro Shiraishi, notorious as the "Twitter killer" who murdered nine people in Kanagawa Prefecture. It also marks a milestone for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who assumed office in late 2025.
At a press conference following the execution, Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi defended the decision, stating that it was reached "after careful and thorough considerations". Addressing the persistent debate over capital punishment, Hiraguchi emphasized that given the ongoing prevalence of extremely malicious and brutal crimes, retaining the death penalty for grave offenses remains an unavoidable public necessity supported by a majority of Japanese citizens. Justice Ministry statistics released alongside the event indicate that the total number of inmates currently on Japan's death row stands at 100, out of which 43 are actively seeking retrials.
The execution has immediately drawn sharp condemnation from international human rights organizations. Groups such as the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the Center for Prisoners' Rights (CPR) issued strong criticisms, urging the Japanese government to establish an official moratorium on executions and move toward total abolition. Critics have also raised concerns over the secretive nature of Japan's penal system—where inmates are often given only hours of notice on the morning of their execution—and noted that Japan and the United States remain the only two nations within the Group of Seven (G7) to continue practicing capital punishment.
Furthermore, human rights advocates pointed out the timing of the execution during a parliamentary recess, accusing authorities of attempting to bypass intensive public scrutiny. Despite growing global pressure and heightened domestic debates—amplified recently by high-profile retrials and acquittals such as that of Iwao Hakamada—the Japanese government continues to maintain its stance, anchored heavily by domestic public opinion polls showing robust support for the retention of the death penalty.
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