Japan has carried out its first execution in two years. According to local media and NHK, 34-year-old Takahiro Shiraishi was hanged this week. The Justice Ministry hasn’t officially confirmed it, but government sources say he was the one executed.
Shiraishi became known as the “Twitter Killer” for using social media to find and kill nine people back in 2017. The case shocked the entire country and sparked a wave of concern about online safety.
How He Lured His Victims
Shiraishi contacted, through the medium of Twitter—now called X—mostly young women who had published posts telling of their desire to die. The perpetrator told these potential victims that he would help them to kill themselves, but once they were in his apartment in the suburbs of Tokyo, he killed them.
The victims were between 15 and 26 years old. He later admitted to murdering all nine, cutting up their bodies, and keeping body parts in coolers around his apartment. His trial was quick because he pleaded guilty, and he was sentenced to death.
Public Still Supports the Death Penalty
While the case was disturbing, most people in Japan still support the death penalty. A 2024 government survey showed that 83% of people think capital punishment is necessary.
Japan and the U.S. are the only two countries in the G7 that still use the death penalty. Most of the world has moved away from it, but Japan hasn’t shown any signs of stopping.
A System Under Fire
Even though Japanese law says executions should happen within six months after all appeals are done, it doesn’t usually work that way. Most prisoners spend years—sometimes decades—in solitary confinement while they wait. This has raised serious mental health concerns.
What’s more, inmates usually don’t find out they’re being executed until just hours before it happens. Many times, they’re told early in the morning, with no warning. Critics say this is cruel and needs to change.
Past Executions That Made Headlines
Before Shiraishi, the last person to be executed in Japan was Tomohiro Kato in 2022. He had driven a truck into a crowd in Tokyo’s Akihabara district in 2008 and then started stabbing people. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Another major moment came in 2018, when the government hanged Shoko Asahara and 12 members of his Aum Shinrikyo cult. They were behind the 1995 sarin gas attack on Tokyo’s subway, which killed 14 people and sickened thousands more.
Are Things Going to Change?
Shiraishi’s execution comes not long after a huge legal milestone in Japan. Iwao Hakamada, who had spent nearly 50 years on death row, was finally released last month. His case, full of doubts and controversy, has made many people question whether the system is fair.
As of December 2023, Japan still had 107 people waiting to be executed. All executions in Japan are still done by hanging.
For now, the death penalty remains firmly in place—and most people seem to be okay with that. But with more eyes on the system and stories like Hakamada’s gaining attention, pressure for change might keep growing.
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