Japan carries out three death sentences – they are the first executions since 2019

The government in Japan has executed three prisoners. According to media reports, the three men are convicted murderers. Initially, several local media had reported on it. It was the first execution of death sentences in the country since 2019.

Among those executed, according to the ministry, was a 65-year-old man who had killed his aunt, two cousins and four other people in 2004. The other two were a 54-year-old and his 44-year-old accomplice who killed two employees of an arcade in 2003, according to the report.

More than a hundred people are on death row in Japan. The country is one of the few industrialized nations that still carries out the death penalty. Despite international criticism, approval among the Japanese population remains high. Most recently, three men were executed in 2019.

As reported by the British newspaper “Guardian,” Amnesty International accused the country as early as 2009 in a report of subjecting prisoners sentenced to death to “cruel, inhuman and degrading” punishment.

According to the report, prisoners are only told hours in advance that their execution is imminent. Relatives are informed only after the fact. Two inmates sentenced to death filed a lawsuit last month against this practice and are seeking financial compensation from the government.

Sources:
https://www.stern.de/news/japan-laesst-drei-verurteilte-moerder-hinrichten-31441280.html
https://www.n-tv.de/panorama/Japan-richtet-drei-Menschen-hin-article23012613.html