- Japan has executed 58-year-old Sunao Takami by hanging over a 2009 arson attack at an Osaka pachinko parlour that killed five people and injured 10 others.
- Takami was convicted of murder, attempted murder, and arson in 2011, with his final appeal to the Supreme Court being rejected in 2016.
- Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi defended ordering the execution after careful consideration, citing the severe pain and shock the crime inflicted on society.
- Executed in secret under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi 's administration, the hanging drew criticism for taking place during a parliamentary recess to avoid debate.
- Japan currently has 100 inmates on death row and remains, alongside the United States, one of only two G7 nations using capital punishment.
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Japan secretly executes arsonist for deadly Osaka gaming venue fire
