Three death row inmates hanged in Japan in first executions since 2019

Three decease enactment inmates were executed by hanging Tuesday successful Japan, marking the archetypal executions since 2019 and the archetypal nether Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

The inmates executed were Yasutaka Fujishiro, 65, convicted of murdering 7 of his relatives and neighbors successful 2004, and Tomoaki Takanezawa, 54, and Mitsunori Onogawa, 44, who were convicted of sidesplitting 2 employees of a Pachinko arcade parlor successful 2003.

Japan is 1 of the fewer developed nations that inactive carries the decease penalty. The state has resisted calls to abolish executions, which instrumentality spot by hanging. Executions are surrounded by secrecy: Prisoners are usually notified they volition beryllium hanged with small notice, and household members larn of the execution erstwhile it has already happened.

“The caller assignment of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was a accidental for advancement connected quality rights successful Japan. But today’s abhorrent resumption of executions is simply a damning indictment of this government’s deficiency of respect for the close to life,” Chiara Sangiorgio, decease punishment advisor astatine Amnesty International, said successful a statement. Kishida took implicit arsenic Japan’s premier curate successful aboriginal October.

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara told reporters aft the executions that it is “not due to abolish [Japan’s decease punishment system] considering the existent concern successful which heinous crimes proceed to occur,” according to the Japan Times newspaper. “Many Japanese deliberation the decease punishment is unavoidable successful the lawsuit of highly malicious crimes,” helium said.

Currently, 107 inmates await execution, according to the Japan Times. The past clip the state executed a death-row inmate was successful 2019, erstwhile it hanged a 40-year-old Chinese nationalist who was convicted of murdering a household of 4 successful 2003.

In a sojourn to Japan successful 2019, Pope Francis drew attraction to the decease penalty,calling it inhumane. During his historical four-day visit, he met with Iwao Hakamada, considered to beryllium the longest-serving decease enactment inmate successful the world.