Hanging of Osaka Arsonist is Japan’s First Execution Under Takaichi Government
The execution of Takami Sunao—an arsonist whose 2009 attack in Osaka killed five—on August 21, 2026, was Japan’s first use of capital punishment in just over a year.
On August 21, 2026, Takami Sunao became Japan's first executed individual under the Takaichi government following his conviction for a 2009 arson attack at an Osaka pachinko parlor. The attack resulted in the deaths of five people and injuries to ten others. Despite the defense arguing diminished capacity, the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence in February 2016.
Execution took place 17 years after the crime and 10.5 years after the finalization of the death sentence. This marks the first execution since 2025, which saw the execution of Shiraishi Takahiro for murder of nine people in Zama. This execution is the earliest under Takaichi Sanae's leadership and reinforces the Code of Criminal Procedure's stipulation for implementing death sentences within six months of the sentence's issuance, although this rarely happens.
From 2000 to 2026, only 100 death sentences were carried out, with the shortest time span between sentencing and execution being one year and the longest being 19 years and 5 months. The Ministry of Justice does not disclose any criteria for executing prisoners, and disclosure of executed individuals and execution locations began in 1998.
Decisions about executions appear to be influenced by the thoughts and feelings of the justice minister in power. The execution of Takami Sunao is a continuation of this trend.
Written by urgent.news from Nippon.com's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
