A 58-year-old man on death row convicted of killing five people in 2009 was executed Friday morning — the first execution under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration.
Sunao Takami was convicted of pouring gasoline and setting a pachinko parlor near his home in the city of Osaka on fire in July 2009, killing four customers and a worker at the establishment and injuring 10 others. He was arrested the following day after he turned himself in.
His death penalty was finalized in 2016 after the Supreme Court rejected his appeal for leniency. The defense team had argued that Takami was suffering from a mental disorder and should have limited criminal responsibility.