Japan's justice minister speaks about execution of death row inmate
Japan's justice minister says he considered very carefully before issuing the execution order of a death row inmate charged with killing nine people.
The execution of Shiraishi Takahiro was carried out on Friday morning.
Justice Minister Suzuki Keisuke held a special news conference in the morning.
He said the convict had deprived victims of their precious lives over a period of two months. He said the motive was to fulfill his sexual and monetary desires and was utterly egoistic.
Suzuki said the incidents greatly shocked society and left people with a sense of anxiety. He noted that the suffering of the bereaved families, let alone the victims themselves, is beyond imagination.
The justice minister said the death sentence was handed down after sufficient deliberation in the courts. He said he issued the execution order after taking all the facts into account and mulling the decision over again and again.
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