Japan has executed a man convicted of killing seven people in a 2008 stabbing rampage, the Justice Ministry said on Tuesday, marking the country’s first execution since last December.
Tomohiro Kato, 39, plowed into pedestrians with a truck in a Tokyo commercial district on June 8, 2008, killing three people and wounding two. He later exited the truck and fatally stabbed four passersby and injured eight others.
Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa said that Kato committed the crime in “a cruel manner” by killing seven people and injuring 10 others, demonstrating his “strong intent to murder” and “careful preparation.”
“The death sentence was finalized after sufficient trial in this case. Based on the above facts, as the justice minister, I ordered the execution of the death penalty after careful consideration,” Furukawa said in a statement….