TOKYO (TR) – The Ministry of Justice on Friday announced the execution of Takahiro Shiraishi, an inmate on death row over the murder and dismemberment of nine men and women.
In 2020, a court convicted Takahiro Shiraishi, 34, of robbery, non-consensual sexual intercourse, murder and destruction of a corpse, reports Nippon News Network (June 27).
In 2017, he killed the eight women and one man, aged 15 to 26, whom he had met on Twitter and other outlets at his apartment in Zama City. He also stole their valuables.
He sexually assaulted the eight women before the murders. The one man was the boyfriend of one of the female victims who had gone looking for her.
Some media outlets dubbed him the “Twitter Killer.”
During his trial, the main issue at trial was whether the victims had consented to being killed. However, the Tachikawa branch of the Tokyo District Court ruled that all nine victims had “not consented.” Shiraishi was sentenced to death and the sentence was finalized.
Following the execution, Keisuke Suzuki, the Minister of Justice, held an emergency press conference to explain the reasons for the execution.
“This has resulted in extremely serious consequences, with the young and precious lives of nine victims taken in the space of about two months, causing great shock and anxiety in society,” Suzuki said. “I ordered the execution after extremely careful consideration.”
This is the first execution in Japan in two years and 11 months. With this execution, the number of death row inmates in prisons nationwide is now 105.
