Japan Hangs Man Convicted of Deadly 2009 Osaka Pachinko Parlor Fire

Japan carried out the execution of a 58-year-old man on Friday for a 2009 arson attack on a pachinko parlor in Osaka that left five people dead and ten others injured. The Justice Ministry confirmed that Sunao Takami was hanged earlier in the day.

Takami was convicted of spreading gasoline inside the crowded establishment and igniting it with a lit match, causing a blaze that engulfed the building. Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi described the crime as having "extremely serious outcomes" that delivered a major shock to society, noting the lasting trauma inflicted on victims and survivors.

The execution marks the first carried out under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's administration. Takami's death sentence, handed down by the Osaka District Court in 2011, was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2016 after his appeals were rejected.

Japan now holds 100 inmates on death row, including 43 who are seeking retrials. The country remains one of only two G7 nations, alongside the United States, to retain capital punishment. International criticism has intensified, particularly following the 2024 acquittal of Iwao Hakamada, the world's longest-serving death row inmate.

Executions in Japan are conducted in secrecy, with inmates informed only on the morning of their hanging. While the government has disclosed names and some crime details since 2007, Hiraguchi said he does not intend to expand disclosures, arguing that additional information could disturb inmates' mental state.

The timing of Friday's execution, during a parliamentary recess, drew criticism as an attempt to avoid public debate—a charge the justice minister denied. The last execution in Japan took place in June 2025, when a man known as the "Twitter killer" was hanged for murdering and dismembering nine people.