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| Japan hangs Chinese man in rare execution of foreigner | Japan hangs Chinese man in rare execution of foreigner |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Japan has hanged a Chinese man for the high-profile and brutal murder of a family of four, the first execution of a foreigner in 10 years. | Japan has hanged a Chinese man for the high-profile and brutal murder of a family of four, the first execution of a foreigner in 10 years. |
| The man, Wei Wei, carried out the murders in 2003 with two accomplices. | The man, Wei Wei, carried out the murders in 2003 with two accomplices. |
| They fled to China, where one was executed in 2005 and the other sentenced to life in jail. | They fled to China, where one was executed in 2005 and the other sentenced to life in jail. |
| Japan has more than 100 prisoners on death row. Fifteen were executed last year, including 13 members of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult. | Japan has more than 100 prisoners on death row. Fifteen were executed last year, including 13 members of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult. |
| Japan only started to disclose the names of executed inmates in 2007. Since then only one foreigner has been named - a Chinese man hanged in 2009. | Japan only started to disclose the names of executed inmates in 2007. Since then only one foreigner has been named - a Chinese man hanged in 2009. |
| Strangled or drowned | Strangled or drowned |
| Justice Minister Masako Mori said she had signed off on the execution of Wei Wei "after careful consideration". | Justice Minister Masako Mori said she had signed off on the execution of Wei Wei "after careful consideration". |
| "It is an extremely cruel and brutal case in which the happily living family members, including an eight-year-old and 11-year-old, were all murdered because of truly selfish reasons," she said. | "It is an extremely cruel and brutal case in which the happily living family members, including an eight-year-old and 11-year-old, were all murdered because of truly selfish reasons," she said. |
| In Japan, death row inmates are not told of their impending execution until the day it is carried out. | In Japan, death row inmates are not told of their impending execution until the day it is carried out. |
| Wei Wei, a former language student aged 40, had admitted carrying out the murders but denied playing the leading role. | Wei Wei, a former language student aged 40, had admitted carrying out the murders but denied playing the leading role. |
| He and his accomplices had tried to rob the home of businessman Shinjiro Matsumoto in the city of Fukuoka. | He and his accomplices had tried to rob the home of businessman Shinjiro Matsumoto in the city of Fukuoka. |
| Mr Matsumoto was strangled, his two children strangled or smothered and his wife drowned in the bath. | Mr Matsumoto was strangled, his two children strangled or smothered and his wife drowned in the bath. |
| Their bodies were weighed down and dumped in Hakata Bay, the Asahi Shimbun reported. | Their bodies were weighed down and dumped in Hakata Bay, the Asahi Shimbun reported. |
| The Chinese man hanged in 2009 had killed three Chinese people he lived with in Tokyo. | The Chinese man hanged in 2009 had killed three Chinese people he lived with in Tokyo. |
| The increase in executions in 2018 was the consequence of a Sarin nerve agent attack on the Tokyo underground system in 1995 by Aum Shinrikyo, an obscure religious group that believed the end of the world was coming. | |
| Thirteen people died and at least 5,800 were injured in the attack. | Thirteen people died and at least 5,800 were injured in the attack. |