Death row inmate who killed 5 in 2009 Osaka pachinko parlor arson executed

Japan announced the execution of Sunao Takami, a man convicted of killing five people in a 2009 arson at an Osaka pachinko parlor, marking the first execution under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government, as the country grapples with calls for more transparency and an end to the death penalty. Takami set fire to the crowded pachinko parlor by spreading gasoline and throwing a lit match, causing the deaths of five individuals and injuries to ten others.

The Justice Minister, Hiroshi Hiraguchi, stated that the execution was carried out due to the "extremely serious outcomes" of the crime and the "major shock and fear" it caused to the society. Takami, 58, was convicted of murder, attempted murder, and arson in 2011, and his appeals to the Supreme Court were rejected in 2016. Japan currently has 100 people on death row, with 43 seeking retrials.

The nation has faced criticism for its use of capital punishment, as most other countries have abolished it. Japan and the United States are the only two countries within the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations that practice capital punishment.