Japan carried out its first execution in nearly three years on Friday (June 27), putting to death a man who had murdered nine individuals after making contact with them through social media. Takahiro Shiraishi, known as the Twitter killer, was sentenced to death for strangling and dismembering eight women and one man in 2017 at his apartment in Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture, near Tokyo. He earned his nickname due to using Twitter to approach his victims. Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki, who approved the execution, said the decision was made after thorough consideration, noting that the crimes were driven by a “deeply selfish” motive and had greatly disturbed society.

This marks Japan’s first execution since July 2022, when a man responsible for a deadly 2008 stabbing spree in Tokyo’s Akihabara district was put to death. It is also the first execution under Prime Minister Shigeru Ishibas administration, which took office last October. In a notable contrast, in September last year, a Japanese court acquitted Iwao Hakamada, who had spent decades on death row after being wrongfully convicted of crimes committed nearly 60 years ago.

Japan uses hanging as its method of capital punishment, and inmates typically receive notification only hours before their execution — a practice long criticized by human rights advocates for the psychological toll it takes on prisoners. “It is not the right time to consider abolishing the death penalty when such brutal crimes are still occurring,” Suzuki said during a press briefing. Currently, there are 105 inmates on death row in Japan.

Disclaimer: This image is taken from Reuters.