BEIJING (Kyodo) China executed convicted Japanese drug-smuggler Mitsunobu Akano on Tuesday, a move that could spark new friction in otherwise improving bilateral relations.
Akano, 65, was executed around 9:30 a.m. at a facility in Dalian, Liaoning Province, Japanese diplomats said, the first time China has executed a Japanese national since the two countries normalized diplomatic relations in 1972.
"The courts had clear and irrefutable evidence of drug-smuggling, and the death sentence was handed down and carried out in line with Chinese law," the official news agency Xinhua quoted the Supreme People's Court as saying.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.