Japan executes man for mass truck attack, its first execution this year

Japan carried out its first execution of 2022 on a man who was convicted of plowing a truck into a crowd in 2008 on Tuesday.

Tomohiro Kato killed seven people in the attack, which saw him driving a vehicle into a large crowd in Tokyo. He exited the vehicle after it came to a stop and began stabbing people at random.

“I came to Akihabara to kill people. It didn’t matter who I’d kill,” Kato told police of his crimes. Akihabara is a district within Tokyo.

Kato reportedly documented his plan of attack in a series of online posts while he was making his way to Akihabar, lamenting about his job and social life.

NAVY LIUTENANT SENTENCED IN JAPAN CAUSES OUTCRY AMONG FAMILY, US LAWMAKERS

TAIWAN LOSES MAJOR ADVOCATE WITH ASSASSINATION OF SHINZO ABE

“This is a very painful case that led to extremely grave consequences and shocked society,” Japan’s Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa said in a Tuesday statement.

Kato’s execution was Japan’s first in 2022. It last carried out a capital punishment sentence in December 2021, when a trio of men was hanged for various murder charges.

The three men were Yasutaka Fujishiro, who murdered seven of his family members in 2004, and Tomoaki Takanezawa and Mitsunori Onogawa, who were convicted of killing two bar employees in 2003.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Prior to the 2021 executions, Japan had not carried out a capital punishment sentence since 2019.

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Japan carried out its first execution of 2022 on a man who was convicted of plowing a truck into a crowd in 2008 on Tuesday.

Tomohiro Kato killed seven people in the attack, which saw him driving a vehicle into a large crowd in Tokyo. He exited the vehicle after it came to a stop and began stabbing people at random.

“I came to Akihabara to kill people. It didn’t matter who I’d kill,” Kato told police of his crimes. Akihabara is a district within Tokyo.

Kato reportedly documented his plan of attack in a series of online posts while he was making his way to Akihabar, lamenting about his job and social life.

NAVY LIUTENANT SENTENCED IN JAPAN CAUSES OUTCRY AMONG FAMILY, US LAWMAKERS

This Sept. 21, 2010 file photo shows the interior of the lethal injection facility at San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, Calif.
(AP)

TAIWAN LOSES MAJOR ADVOCATE WITH ASSASSINATION OF SHINZO ABE

“This is a very painful case that led to extremely grave consequences and shocked society,” Japan’s Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa said in a Tuesday statement.

Kato’s execution was Japan’s first in 2022. It last carried out a capital punishment sentence in December 2021, when a trio of men was hanged for various murder charges.

The three men were Yasutaka Fujishiro, who murdered seven of his family members in 2004, and Tomoaki Takanezawa and Mitsunori Onogawa, who were convicted of killing two bar employees in 2003.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Prior to the 2021 executions, Japan had not carried out a capital punishment sentence since 2019.

Related articles

You may also be interested in

Headline

Never Miss A Story

Get our Weekly recap with the latest news, articles and resources.
Cookie policy

We use our own and third party cookies to allow us to understand how the site is used and to support our marketing campaigns.