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Japan executes 2008 Akihabara massacre attacker —report

In 2011, Tomohiro Kato was sentenced to a death penalty

TOKYO, July 26. /TASS/. Japanese citizen Tomohiro Kato, who carried out a massacre in Tokyo’s Akihabara District in June 2008, has been executed Tuesday morning, Kyodo reported citing its sources.

The attack resulted in deaths of seven people, ten more were injured. Driving a truck, Kato rammed into a crowd, then left the vehicle and starting stabbing indiscriminately with a knife. The police arrested the attacker promptly, but was unable to avoid casualties.

In 2011, he was sentenced to a death penalty. The defense filed an appeal, but the Supreme Court denied the appeal. The Akihabara massacre is one of the most resonant crimes committed in Japan.

Japan executes death penalty by hanging under an order of the Minister of Justice. There is no specific term between a sentence and an execution, and convicts often expect their executions for years.

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