OSAKA — Japan executed Sunao Takami by hanging on Friday, August 21, 2026. The execution marked the first carried out under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government.

Takami was 58 years old at the time of his death. Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi, who has served in the role since October 2025, authorized the procedure following a review of the case.

The execution stemmed from a 2009 arson attack in Osaka. Takami set fire to a pachinko parlor by spreading gasoline and throwing a lit match inside the establishment.

The fire killed five people and injured 10 others. Four customers and one employee died in the blaze.

The court sentenced him to death. Takami's appeals were rejected in 2016 by a Supreme Court decision upholding the penalty.

"As justice minister, I have ordered an execution after careful and thorough considerations," Hiraguchi said. "It caused extremely serious outcomes and dealt a major shock and fear to the society."

"The victims whose lives were taken away must have felt unimaginable pain and fear, and those who suffered injuries.. were forced to live with long-term effects," he added.

The execution took place during a parliamentary recess. Hiraguchi denied that scheduling the event during the break was intentional to avoid public debate.

Executions in Japan are carried out by long drop hanging at one of seven chambers located in major cities across the country. Prisoners are notified of their fate only on the morning of their hanging.

Hiraguchi defended hanging as a valid method, citing past Supreme Court decisions that it is not considered more cruel than lethal injection, electrocution, or shooting. He stated he had no intention to change the practice of limited disclosure regarding executions.

Since 2007, Japan has disclosed the names of those executed and some details of their crimes, but disclosures remain limited. Hiraguchi said additional details would disturb the mental state of death-row inmates.

Japan currently has 100 people on death row, including 43 seeking retrials. Japanese law stipulates that executions must be carried out within six months of a final verdict after appeals are exhausted.

The Penal Code of Japan and several laws list 14 capital crimes, though in practice it is applied only for aggravated murder. Japan and the U.S. are the only two countries in the Group of Seven that retain capital punishment.

Previous executions include Takahiro Shiraishi, known as the "Twitter killer," who was executed in June 2025. Shiraishi was convicted of killing and dismembering nine people in his apartment near Tokyo in 2017.

Police found body parts in Zama, near Tokyo, in October 2017 while searching for one of Shiraishi's victims. The Japanese justice ministry reported one execution in 2022, three in 2021, three in 2019, and 15 in 2018.

Timeline

In 2009, Sunao Takami set fire to a pachinko parlor in Osaka by spreading gasoline and throwing a lit match. The 2009 arson attack killed five people and injured 10 others, with four customers and one employee dying in the fire.

Takami was convicted of murder, attempted murder, and arson and sentenced to death in a 2011 Osaka District Court ruling. A six-member jury and a panel of three judges rejected the defense argument that Takami was mentally ill at the time of the crime. Takami's appeals were rejected in 2016 by a Supreme Court decision upholding the death penalty. In 2017, Takahiro Shiraishi was convicted of killing and dismembering nine people in his apartment near Tokyo.

What's New

Additional reporting indicates that Iran executed at least 2,159 people in 2025, Saudi Arabia executed a minimum of 356, the United States executed 47, and Singapore executed 17, according to Amnesty International. Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi defended hanging as a valid method of execution, citing past Supreme Court decisions that it is not considered more cruel than other methods such as lethal injection, electrocution, and shooting.

Hiraguchi cited surveys showing the vast majority of Japanese support the death penalty as an unavoidable option. A Japanese government survey in 2024 found that 83 percent of respondents considered the death penalty "unavoidable." Rights groups have criticized "hostage justice" in Japan, where suspects spend years in pre-trial detention under pressure to confess. Support for abolition of the death penalty in Japan rose to 17 percent in 2024 from nine percent five years earlier.

Why It Matters

This execution shows the ongoing application of capital punishment in Japan, where 100 individuals remain on death row. The event occurred during shifting public opinion, with support for abolition rising to 17 percent in 2024 from nine percent five years earlier, although a 2024 government survey found 83 percent of respondents still considered the death penalty unavoidable.

Critics point to systemic issues, including the lack of transparency in execution timing and the practice of keeping inmates in solitary confinement. The recent acquittal of Iwao Hakamada in 2024, after decades on death row for a 1966 quadruple murder, has fueled calls for greater scrutiny of the justice system. Hakamada was the fifth death row inmate granted a retrial in Japan's post-war history, and all four previous cases resulted in exonerations.