On Friday, Japan carried out the execution of Takahiro Shiraishi, known worldwide as the “Twitter killer.” He had been given the death penalty for enticing nine people on the Internet, then killing and dismembering them. He perpetrated horrific acts by preying upon the most vulnerable among us. Specifically, he targeted women, 15 to 26 years old and reached them through the social media channel, Twitter (or X, as it’s called now).
Shiraishi pleaded guilty to all charges, admitting that he had planned everything. He admitted that he would call suicidal victims, giving them his assistance in taking their own lives. He performed these sordid acts in his apartment in Tokyo. It was there, he not only killed all of his victims, he dismembered them, stashing their remains in coolers throughout his small apartment. His illegal acts were robbery, rape, murder, concealment of a corpse and abandonment of a corpse.
The execution was confirmed by Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki, and is Japan’s first death penalty implementation since 2022. The law stipulates that execution should be carried out within six months of a final verdict after all appeals are over. As of December 2023, there are 107 prisoners on death row awaiting execution in Japan.
“After much careful consideration, I ordered the execution,” – Keisuke Suzuki
As a result of Shiraishi’s case, conversations have started focusing on the mental health effects of housing inmates on death row. Thousands of condemned prisoners will be forced to spend decades waiting in solitary confinement with many getting only a few hours notice before they are executed. Locking people up in this way is not just hazardous physically but mentally, as prisoners face ongoing stress about their survival.
Only last month, a national opinion poll conducted by the Government of Japan found that 83% of people considered the death penalty to be “unavoidable”. Shiraishi’s crimes have been described by Minister Suzuki as involving “robbery, rape, murder … destruction of a corpse and abandonment of a corpse,” underscoring the severity of his actions.