The Tokyo High Court on Thursday upheld the death sentence imposed on a gangster for gunning down a mob boss' bodyguard and three bystanders in a bar in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, in 2003.

Masato Kohinata, a 36-year-old senior member of Yano Mutsumi-kai, immediately filed an appeal.

Presiding Judge Atsushi Senba said Kohinata "committed the act with a resolute intent to kill and without any hesitation whatsoever."