«Breaking News» Japan hangs two for murder, bringing 2018 executions to 15

Two death row inmates who killed an investment banker and an employee,  then stole 100 million yen were hanged today, Japanese authorities said.

Ex-yakuza gangster, Keizo Kawamura, 60, and former investment adviser, Hiroya Suemori, 67, were executed at the Osaka Detention Center.  

The pair were convicted in 2004 of the 1988 kidnapping, robbing and strangling of 43-year-old Kazuo Kengaku, the president of investment firm Cosmo Research Corp., in an apartment building in Osaka. 

After stealing 100 million yen ($900,000 at today's rate) they buried the two bodies in concrete in the mountains in the neighbouring Kyoto Prefecture. 

Earlier on the same day they murdered Hiroyuki Watanabe, a 23-year-old employee of the investment firm who the killers tricked into giving information about his boss's whereabouts.

The two inmates were found guilty of robbery, murder, fraud, disposing of the dead bodies and violating firearm and explosives laws. 

Keizo Kawamura (left) and Hiroya Suemori (right) were sentenced to death in 1995 of the 1988 strangling of an investment firm chief and an employee

Their capital punishment was finalised in 2004 and the pair's death sentence was confirmed after their appeals against their 1995 conviction failed.  

Justice Minister Takashi Yamashita named the two men who were executed as Kawamura, who also goes by the surname Okamoto, and Suemori at a press conference today.

He said: 'This was an extremely heinous crime that shook society.

'Evil, heinous crimes cannot avoid the death penalty. 'I believe it is not appropriate to abolish the death penalty.'

The minister, who is a a former prosecutor, said he ordered the executions after careful consideration of their chance of getting a retrial, and made it clear Japan would not stop capital punishment any time soon. 

Today's hangings brings the number of executions this year to 15 - tied for the highest amount on record.

With more than 100 inmates on death row, Japan is one of the few developed nations to retain the death penalty, and public support for it remains high despite international criticism, including from rights groups.

Japan has so far hanged 15 inmates this year, matching a 2008 record since the nation started publicly announcing executions in 1998.

Japan is one of the few developed nations to retain the death penalty and hanged an equal-record 15 people this year

Today's hangings came five months after the nation carried out the executions of cult members sentenced to death for their role in the fatal 1995 sarin attack on the Tokyo subway and other crimes.

A total of 13 people belonging to the Aum Shinrikyo cult - including former guru Shoko Asahara - were executed in July, drawing a line under the horrific attack which shocked the world and prompted national soul-searching over the group and its crimes.

The mass execution sparked some criticism from rights groups, including Amnesty International.

Local media said authorities wanted the death sentences against the Aum members to be carried out before Japan's emperor abdicates next year, when a new imperial era will begin.

Since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe retook office in 2012 the number of executions under his administration now stands at 36.

Currently 110 inmates are on death row, with 86 of the figure seeking retrials.

Link hienalouca.com

https://hienalouca.com/2018/12/27/japan-hangs-two-for-murder-bringing-2018-executions-to-15/
Main photo article Two death row inmates who killed an investment banker and an employee,  then stole 100 million yen were hanged today, Japanese authorities said.
Ex-yakuza gangster, Keizo Kawamura, 60, and former investment adviser, Hiroya Suemori, 67, were executed at the Osaka Detention Center.  
The pair were ...

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Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca





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