TOKYO: Japan’s Justice Ministry said Tuesday that three death-row inmates, including a man, 65, who killed seven people in Kakogawa in the western prefecture of Hyogo were executed the same day.

The executions were the first in the country since December 2019 and also the first under the administration of Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio, who took office in early October this year.

The two executed inmates other than the 65-year-old, Yasutaka Fujishiro, were Tomoaki Takanezawa, 54, and Mitsunori Onogawa, 44, who conspired to kill two “pachinko” pinball parlor workers in Gunma Prefecture, eastern Japan.

In his inaugural press conference in October, Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa said, “I think that the death penalty is unavoidable for people committing crimes that the majority of the public believes are extremely malicious and atrocious,” signaling his support for the country maintaining the capital punishment system.

JIJI Press