Japan executes ‘Twitter killer' who murdered nine
AFP | Tokyo
Japan yesterday executed a man dubbed the 'Twitter killer' who murdered and dismembered nine people he met online, in the nation's first enactment of the death penalty since 2022.
Takahiro Shiraishi, 34, was hanged for killing his young victims, all but one of whom were women, after contacting them on the social media platform now called X.
He had targeted users who posted about taking their own life, telling them he could help them in their plans, or even die alongside them.
Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki said Shiraishi's crimes, carried out in 2017, included 'robbery, rape, murder... destruction of a corpse and abandonment of a corpse'.
'Nine victims were beaten and strangled, killed, robbed, and then mutilated with parts of their bodies concealed in boxes, and parts discarded in a garbage dump,' Suzuki told reporters in Tokyo.
Shiraishi acted to satisfy 'his own sexual and financial desires' and the murders 'caused great shock and anxiety to society', Suzuki said.
'After much careful consideration, I ordered the execution.'
Japan and the United States are the only two G7 countries to still use capital punishment, and there is strong support for the practice among the Japanese public, surveys show.
There was one execution in 2022, three in 2021, three in 2019 and 15 in 2018, the justice ministry said.
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