Tokyo: Kato Tomohiro, a 39-year-old man behind the car-ramming and mass stabbing attack in Tokyo 14 years ago, was executed by hanging on Tuesday, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported, citing government sources.
In June 2008, Kato, who was 26 at the time, attacked Tokyo’s busy Akihabara shopping district by ramming a truck into a crowd of pedestrians and then stabbing passersby. As a result, seven people were killed and 10 were injured.
After the detention, the criminal said that he had specifically come to Tokyo from Shizuoka Prefecture to kill someone as he had lost all interest in life.
According to the indictment, Kato did not suffer from mental disorders and, therefore, was conscious of his actions. On the basis of the evidence provided, as well as the results of the investigation, the court sentenced him to capital punishment.
The Supreme Court finalized Kato’s death sentence in 2015, rejecting his appeals and saying the seriousness of the crime made the verdict unequivocal.
The criminal was executed on Tuesday morning at the Tokyo detention center.
