The Nagasaki District Court sentenced a 60-year-old gangster to death Monday for assassinating Nagasaki Mayor Itcho Ito during an election campaign last year.
Tetsuya Shiroo shot Ito, 61, twice with a pistol on the evening of April 17, 2007, near his campaign office in front of JR Nagasaki Station, prosecutors said in their closing argument. Ito died 6 1/2 hours later. The crime "was extremely outrageous and heinous," presiding Judge Yoshimichi Matsuo said. "It infringed on the people's right to vote and destabilized democracy at its roots."
Matsuo ruled that Shiroo had a clear intent to kill, saying he "tried to exhibit his power by bringing about an incident that stunned society."