Hiroshi Hiraguchi

finding him mentally competent and criminally responsible.

Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi said the decision was made after careful consideration.

Japan's capital punishment system has faced growing scrutiny following the 2024 exoneration of Iwao Hakamata after more than four decades on death row.

A 2024 government poll found over 80% of Japanese citizens consider the death penalty unavoidable.

It marked the country's first execution in fourteen months and the first for the Takeuchi administration.

Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi announced Takami's execution, saying his death sentence had been carried out earlier that morning at the Osaka Detention House.

Hiraguchi described Takami's attack seventeen years ago as exceptionally brutal and carefully planned.

In addition to claiming five lives, it spread shock and fear in society, he said.