Takahiro Shiraishi, a Japanese man known for targeting vulnerable people who expressed suicidal thoughts online has been executed.
On Friday, June 27, the capital punishment of the "Twitter killer" took place, a first in nearly three years.
Shiraishi was sentenced to death in 2020 after pleading guilty to killing the nine people, mostly women, in one of the most high-profile mass murder cases in Japan.
He was sentenced for raping, murdering and dismembering the nine victims and for storing their bodies in his apartment in Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture.
The 34-year-old was arrested in October 2017 after police searched his home to investigate the disappearance of a 23-year-old woman who had shared suicidal thoughts on social media platforms.
Furthermore, three cooler boxes and five containers were found in Shiraish's room, which contained human bones and heads with the flesh removed.
As reported by Japanese public broadcaster NHK, the nine victims, one man and eight women, were between the ages of 15 and 26 years old.
All the victims had expressed thoughts of self-harm and suicide on social media posts and were then contacted by the "Twitter killer."
Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki shared with the press on Friday, "This case, driven by selfish motives such as sexual and financial gratification, resulted in the deaths of nine individuals over two months – a deeply serious incident that has caused shock and anxiety across society."
Takahiro Shiraishi's execution is the first in Japan since July 2022.
Notably, in Japan, the death penalty is given by hanging, with execution dates made public after the punishment is carried out.
