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Last Updated:June 27, 2025, 13:37 IST
Japan executed Takahiro Shiraishi, also known as the 'Twitter killer', for the murders of nine people, mostly women, in 2017. This marks Japan's first hanging since 2022.
Shiraishi was arrested in October 2017 after police began looking into the case of a 23-year-old woman who had gone missing. (Image: X/Reuters)
In Japan’s first hanging since 2022, Takahiro Shiraishi, the man convicted of killing multiple females he met online, has been executed. The 34-year-old, who was also referred to as ‘Twitter killer’ was sentenced to death for murders of nine people, mostly women, in 2017.
According to media reports, Shiraishi targetted women aged between15 and 26 years, brought them to his apartment near Tokyo where he killed and dismembered them.
According to news agency AFP, the ‘Twitter killer’ murdered eight women and a man after getting in touch with them on social media platform X.
Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki stated that the nine victims were beaten, strangled, and mutilated, with body parts hidden in boxes and some discarded.
News agency AFP reported that the killer selected suicidal victims on social media and offered to help them die. After luring and killing them, he stored their remains in coolers in his apartment. Police discovered the gruesome murders after the disappearance of a 23-year-old woman who had expressed suicidal thoughts on Twitter in 2017.
The Justice Minister noted that Shiraishi’s actions were driven by his own sexual and financial desires.
“Nine victims were beaten and strangled, killed, robbed, and then mutilated with parts of their bodies concealed in boxes, and parts discarded in a garbage dump," AFP quoted Suzuki as saying. The minister added that the killings caused great shock and anxiety to society. “After much careful consideration, I ordered the execution," he further said.
Shiraishi’s lawyers argued against his execution, claiming the victims had consented to die.
Before Shiraishi, Tomohiro Kato was executed in 2022 for a 2008 attack in Tokyo’s Akihabara, where he drove a truck into a crowd and then went on a stabbing spree, killing seven people.
The death penalty has strong public support in Japan. A 2024 government survey showed 83 per cent of 1,800 respondents viewed capital punishment as “unavoidable". Japan and the US are the only Group of Seven industrialised countries that retain the practice.
Although the law requires executions within six months of a final verdict, inmates often wait years in solitary confinement, which can cause psychological issues. Inmates are usually informed of their execution only hours before it takes place, typically in the early morning. The system has faced criticism for its lack of transparency over the practice.
Manisha Roy is a Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com's general desk. She comes with an experience of over 5 years in media industry. She covers politics and other hard news. She can be contacted at Manisha.Roy@nw18...Read More
Manisha Roy is a Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com's general desk. She comes with an experience of over 5 years in media industry. She covers politics and other hard news. She can be contacted at Manisha.Roy@nw18...
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- Location :
Tokyo, Japan
- First Published:
News world Japan's 'Twitter Killer', Who Lured Women To Kill Them, Hanged To Death
English (US) ·