Lured Victims with Posts Suggesting Suicide Pact on X
Eight Out of Nine Victims Were Women
The death penalty has been carried out in Japan for the first time in three years.
According to NHK and Kyodo News on the 27th, the execution was carried out that morning for Shiraiishi Takahiro (34), who was indicted for the serial murders of nine people. This comes about four years after his sentence was finalized in January 2021.
In August and September 2017, Shiraiishi lured nine victims in their teens and twenties to an apartment in Kanagawa Prefecture by posting messages on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), asking, "Would you like to die together?" He then murdered them.
He also committed sexual assault against eight of the female victims before killing them. In addition, he stole cash ranging from hundreds of yen to tens of thousands of yen from these victims.
During the investigation at the time, police discovered nine bodies at his home, and Shiraiishi admitted to the charges.
This execution is the first to be carried out in Japan since July 2022, marking the first under the cabinet of Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru, which was formed in October last year.
Japan has faced calls from international human rights organizations to abolish the death penalty, but continues to maintain the system, citing strong domestic support for capital punishment.
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