Japan executes man over 2008 Tokyo stabbing rampage

Authorities in Japan executed a man convicted of killing seven people during a 2008 rampage in a crowded Tokyo shopping district on Tuesday.

"The death sentence in this case was finalized through sufficient deliberation in court," Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa told reporters. "Based on this fact, I approved the execution after extremely thorough scrutiny."

The man convicted of the attack, identified as Tomohiro Kato, was hanged at the Tokyo detention center earlier on Tuesday.

Shocking killing spree

On June 8, 2008, Kato drove a truck into a crowd of people on a street in the Akihabara electronics shopping area, killing three pedestrians. He then exited his vehicle and stabbed another four people to death.

Kato also injured 10 others. He was arrested on the spot after the attacks. It was one of the worst mass killings Japan had seen in years.

It also prompted Japan to ban the possession of double-edged knives with blades longer than 5.5 centimeters (2 inches).

Prior to the attack, Kato posted several despondent messages on internet bulletin boards and stated his intent to kill people. His anger against society was aggravated when his messages elicited no response from people, prosecutors said.

Following his arrest, Kato told police, "I came to Akihabara to kill people. It didn't matter who I'd kill."

Later in court, he showed remorse and apologized for the attack.

The court sentenced Kato to death in 2011, and the Supreme Court rejected his appeal in 2015.

Japan, along with the United States, is one of the few developed nations that has retained capital punishment. A Japanese government survey showed that citizens overwhelmingly support executions, despite international criticism.