Regarding the Nov. 10 Kyodo brief "Asahara second retrial plea fails": How long is the justice minister going to let this filthy case drag out? I don't see any reason for doing so other than to allow one of the world's worst demons to enjoy life for so long.

If the minister does not know how to decide this case, he should transfer it to Myanmar's government. It condemned the killers of a Japanese businessman two years ago at an Inya Lake hotel, and recently the killer of a female Japanese tourist at Chiharu, within three weeks or so by death sentences.

The case of Shoko Asahara (the Aum Shinrikyo founder on death row for masterminding the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system) is as clear as the finest crystal. The minister should do his job at once now and save the taxpayers money.

The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.

nyunt shwe