Tsutomu Miyazaki, the death-row inmate convicted of killing four girls from 1988 to 1989, was executed Tuesday, as were two other men. The number of death-row inmates hanged on the orders of Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama has now reached 13, topping the post-1993 record of 10 ordered hanged by Justice Minister Jinen Nagase in 2006 and 2007. (Executions resumed in 1993 after a temporary halt.)
Miyazaki, 45, was executed two years and four months after his death sentence was finalized. The execution of the other two men came two years and eight months, and three years and four months, respectively, after their death sentences were finalized. The average time span between the finalization of a death sentence and execution was about eight years for 1998-2007.
The Justice Ministry's position on capital punishment is behind the fast pace of executions. Mr. Hatoyama explained that Tuesday's executions were carried out in the interest of justice and to protect the state in which the rule of law prevails.