Japan has executed a man named Takahiro Shiraishi after he was convicted of murdering nine people, including eight women. This is the first capital punishment in the country since 2022, Reuters reported. The 34-year-old was hanged at the Tokyo Detention House on Friday, June 27, Japan's Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki said.
'Twitter killer': Who was Takahiro Shiraishi?
Shiraishi was arrested by police in 2017 for strangling and dismembering nine people at his apartment in Zama city, which is located near Tokyo.
Post his arrest, he came to be known as the “Twitter killer,” since he contacted all the victims through the social media platform.
According to The New York Times, after searching his residence, officials discovered heads and other body parts of the victims in coolers. These were allegedly filled with cat litter to mask the odor.
The discovery horrified Japan, which has low crime rates.
Several of the nine victims were young women and girls contemplating suicide. They were lured to his apartment through social media.
After bringing them to his house, Shiraishi strangled them and sexually assaulted some of the victims. He even robbed them and cut the corpses to hide them at different locations, The Washington Post reported.
Among the female victims, there were also girls aged 15 and 17. Shiraishi murdered the male acquaintance of one victim after the person confronted him about her disappearance.
{{/usCountry}}Among the female victims, there were also girls aged 15 and 17. Shiraishi murdered the male acquaintance of one victim after the person confronted him about her disappearance.
{{/usCountry}}All these incidents took place in a two-month killing spree in 2017.
On one of his accounts on X, previously known as Twitter, Shiraishi identified himself as “@hangingpro”. He offered to help out people who were in pain.
“If you cannot help yourself, I can help you,” public prosecutors read one of his posts during the trial.
Justice minister Keisuke Suzuki said the execution order was signed on Monday, but he did not witness the hanging on Friday morning. He added that the capital punishment was carried out after “careful and deliberate consideration.”
A major piece of evidence against Shiraishi was found when the brother of one of his victims saw his messages on her Twitter account.
As per local media reports, Shiraishi told police during the trial that he was not interested in suicide and targeted people who wrote about it on social media. He stated that it was “easier” for him to “manipulate” them to his “way of thinking.”
FAQs:
1. When was the last capital punishment carried out in Japan?
In July 2022, a man was executed after he went on a stabbing rampage in Akihabara in 2008.
2. How many death row inmates are there in Japan?
Japan's justice minister Keisuke Suzuki said 105 people remain on death row in the country.
3. When was Takahiro Shiraishi sentenced to death?
A Tokyo court had in December 2020 sentenced Shiraishi to death after finding him guilty of murdering nine people, who were between 15 and 26 years of age.