A killer who went on a rampage in Japan killing people indiscriminately has been executed.
Tomohiro Kato killed seven people in 2008 when he started stabbing people at random in a busy area of Tokyo.
The whole country of Japan was shocked by his crimes, and he was given the death penalty due to the severity of the attack.
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Now, at the age of 39 he has been executed.
Kato was 25 at the time of his premeditated murders, starting when he drove a truck into a crowd of pedestrians in the Akihabara shopping district at lunchtime.
He killed three people during the vehicular attack, before killing four more and wounding a further eight by stabbing passers-by with a dagger.
Police arrested him at the scene, before he admitted his crimes later on, stating that he was angered because he’d been bullied online.
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In a shocking admission, Kato told the police that he was ‘tired of life’ and set out ‘to kill people’ without any concern for who they were.
Now, the government has confirmed his death sentence, and the national broadcasters reported that he was executed by hanging at a prison in the country.
At a press conference, Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa said: "The case has been fully tried in the courts and the courts' final conclusion was the death sentence... I have taken the greatest care possible in considering this case.”
It is believed that Kato was executed at the Tokyo Detention Centre after he lost a challenge to commute his sentence to a prison sentence in 2015.
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At the time of his arrest, Kato told the police: "I came to Akihabara to kill people.
“It didn't matter who I'd kill."
After the court hearing, Kato’s actions were described in a ruling as ‘leaving no grounds for leniency’.
The outrage in the aftermath of Kato’s crime was so great that rules around knife ownership were changed in Japanese law.
The area in which the murders took place is a busy district of the Japanese capital known as the capital of manga and anime culture.
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Japan is in a minority of countries that still use capital punishment, despite significant opposition from human rights groups and activists at home and abroad.
Kato’s case is the first death sentence to be carried out this year, although three hangings were carried out last December.
Mr Furukawa defended the use of capital punishment, stating: "Since there is no end to heinous crimes, I regret death penalties remain necessary.
“Therefore abolishing the penalty is not appropriate."
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No executions were carried out for two years prior to the election of current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Topics: World News, Crime