A Chinese man on death row for the 2003 slaying of a family of four was executed in Fukuoka on Thursday, marking the first inmate put to death since Justice Minister Masako Mori took office Oct. 31.
Wei Wei, who had studied in Japan, was sentenced to death for the murder-robbery of a family in Fukuoka Prefecture. The victims included an 11-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl.
"For a self-serving purpose, the convict killed all the family members. ... This is an extremely ruthless crime," Mori said during a news conference.