Executions in Japan -- 2006 - 2008

Note: This post has been updated here to the end of 2008.

Japan has executed 20 people since December 2006. All were hanged for crimes including murder.

Ten executions were approved by the current Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama, who was appointed on 27 August 2007.

The other ten were executed in eleven months by his predecessor, Jinen Nagase, who was appointed Justice Minister on 26 September 2006. At the time he left office, it was the highest number of executions approved by any one justice minister since a moratorium on the death penalty was lifted in 1993.

The 20 executed were:

10 April 2008
Masahito Sakamoto, 41 (Tokyo)
Kaoru Okashita, 61 (Tokyo)
Katsuyoshi Nakamoto, 64 (Osaka)
Masaharu Nakamura, 61 (Osaka)

1 February 2008
Masahiko Matsubara, 63 (Osaka)
Takashi Mochida, 65 (Tokyo)
Keishi Nago, 37 (Fukuoka)

7 December 2007
Seiha Fujima, 47 (Tokyo)
Hiroki Fukawa, 42 (Tokyo)
Noboru Ikemoto, 75 (Osaka)

23 August, 2007
Hifumi Takezawa, 69 (Tokyo)
Yoshio Iwamoto, 63 (Tokyo)
Kozo Segawa, 60 (Nagoya)

27 April 2007
Kosaku Nata, 56 (Osaka)
Yoshikatsu Oda, 59 (Fukuoka)
Masahiro Tanaka, (also Miyashita), 42 (Tokyo)

25 December 2006
Yoshimitsu Akiyama, 77 (Tokyo)
Hiroaki Hidaka, 44 (Hiroshima)
Yoshio Fujinami, 75 (Tokyo)
Michio Fukuoka, 64 (Osaka)

Seiken Sugiura was Justice Minister from October 2005 - September 2005, when no executions were carried out as a result of his Buddhist religious beliefs.

The last execution prior to his appointment was reported to have been on 16 September 2005.