Japan executes man over 2008 stabbing rampage in Tokyo

Tokyo, July 26 Japan on Tuesday executed a man who killed seven people in Tokyo's Akihabara district in 2008 during a stabbing rampage, Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa announced.

Tomohiro Kato, 39, drove a truck into pedestr in a no-vehicle zone in the popular shopping and tourist district on June 8, 2008, killing three people on the spot, reports Xinhua news agency.

After stopping the truck, he exited and proceeded to indiscriminately stab four other people and injured eight others with a long-bladed dagger, the 2015 court ruling said.

"The incident had had a significant impact on society as it deprived seven people of their precious lives," Furukawa told a press briefing here.

"After careful and then more careful consideration," Furukawa said he signed the execution order for Kato on July 22.

He was hanged in the Tokyo Detention Centre.

Kato had lost his challenge to commute the sentence in Japan's top court in 2015.

Two executions have been conducted under the administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, with three death-row inmates involved in multiple murders hanged in December 2021.

The number of death-row inmates in Japan now stands at 106, according to official figures.