Japan executes 'Twitter killer' who murdered nine

Japan on Friday executed a man dubbed the "Twitter killer" who murdered and dismembered nine people he met online, in the nation's first enactment of the death penalty since 2022.

Takahiro Shiraishi, 34, was hanged for killing his young victims, all but one of whom were women, after contacting them on the social media platform now called X. He had targeted users who posted about taking their own lives, telling them he could help them in their plans, or even die alongside them.

Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki said Shiraishi's crimes, carried out in 2017, included "murder, robbery and sexual assault, and was sentenced to death at a district court in Tokyo. Shiraishi's defense counsel filed an appeal with the Tokyo High Court, but he later withdrew it himself, finalizing the sentence in 2021.