Japan Executes Arsonist Who Killed 5 in 2009 Osaka Pachinko Fire

In a move that has sparked international outcry, Japan has executed a 58-year-old man convicted of killing five people in a fire he ignited at a pachinko parlor in Osaka 17 years ago. Sunao Takami was hanged to death early Friday, marking the first execution under the ultra-conservative administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

According to court documents, Takami had quit his job in April 2009 but was unable to find new employment. He decided to carry out an indiscriminate killing as revenge against society and people he delusionally blamed for his misfortunes, intending to commit an attack serious enough that he would receive the death penalty.

Takami was sentenced to death by the Osaka District Court on October 31, 2011, on charges of arson, murder, and attempted murder. He was convicted of killing five people and injuring 10 others on July 5, 2009, when he set fire to a pachinko parlor in the Konohana Ward, Osaka, at about 4:15 p.m.

At the time of the incident, 131 people were inside the six-story building, including 95 in the pachinko parlor, when the fire began. Court documents state that Takami had planned the attack for several months, intending to create a fire that would be difficult to extinguish.

Takami’s execution has been widely criticized by human rights groups, including Amnesty International Japan. The organization has stated that Takami had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and that killing him violates international standards that dictate that those with mental or intellectual disabilities should not be sentenced to death.