Two death-row inmates were hanged Thursday morning, the first executions in 13 months, according to information that reached their acquaintances.
Toshihiko Hasegawa, 51, who had been on death row since 1993 for killing three people between 1979 and 1983 in a series of murder-for-insurance schemes, was hanged at the Nagoya Detention House.
Kojiro Asakura, 66, convicted of killing five members of a family and destroying their bodies in Tokyo in 1983, was executed at the Tokyo Detention House. The death sentence against him was finalized in 1996. These were the first executions under the administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who took office in late April.
Their executions put the total number of death-row inmates hanged since Japan lifted a moratorium on executions in 1993 to 41.
The execution of Hasegawa could stir up controversy because relatives of his victims filed an appeal with the Justice Ministry not to execute him, saying that they wanted Hasegawa to live and atone for what he did.
The brother of Teruyoshi Eguchi, killed by Hasegawa in 1979, and the mother and brother of Akio Harada, killed in 1983, have also submitted petitions with the Nagoya Detention House for amnesty.
The latest petition was submitted in May 2000.
Masaharu Harada, the elder brother of Akio Harada, has exchanged letters with and visited Hasegawa at the detention house.
Harada earlier said that he would "never forgive" Hasegawa for killing his brother, but noted that the murderer could best atone for his crime by living on.
A lawyer who had handled Hasegawa's case in court said he recently received a letter from Hasegawa, expressing relief that he could live to see Christmas again this year.