3 prisoners executed in Japan since 2012

Japan has hanged three death row inmates in its first executions since July 2010, BBC News reported.

Reports said the unnamed prisoners, hanged in separate prisons, had all been convicted of multiple murders.

Japan is one of the few advanced industrialised nations to retain the death penalty. It is usually reserved for multiple murders.

Though the majority support the death penalty, rights groups say Japan’s death row is particularly harsh.

“Today, three executions were carried out,” Justice Minister Toshio Ogawa said. “I have carried out my duty as a justice minister as stipulated by law.”

There are currently more than 100 people on death row, including Shoko Asahara, the mastermind behind the 1995 sarin gas attacks on the Tokyo subway. No executions were carried out in 2011.  Read more... (185 words)

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