Japan executed 58-year-old Sunao Takami, who set fire using gasoline to a pachinko parlor in Osaka in 2009, killing five people. This is Japan's first execution in over a year.
On 21 August 2026 GMT+7, international news agencies reported that Japan executed 58-year-old Sunao Takami by hanging. He was convicted of pouring gasoline and setting fire to a pachinko parlor in Osaka in 2009, which caused five deaths. This is Japan's first execution in over a year.
The report states that a panel of six jurors and three judges considered the case and rejected the defense's argument that Takami suffered from mental illness at the time of the crime. He was sentenced to death by hanging in 2011. Takami committed the arson at a pachinko parlor near his home, using gasoline to ignite the fire, resulting in five deaths: four customers and one employee.
Hiroshi Hiraguchi, Japan's Minister of Justice, said the execution order was issued after careful and thorough review of the case. He added that this execution is the first under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's administration.
Japan remains one of the few developed countries that retain the death penalty. It is one of only two G7 countries, alongside the United States, that still enforce capital punishment. Typically, death row inmates in Japan are notified of their execution only a few hours before it is carried out.