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Time of India

Japan executes ‘Twitter Killer' who lured and dismembered nine suicidal victims in Zama ‘house of horrors'

Japan executed Takahiro Shiraishi, infamously known as the 'Twitter killer'. He murdered nine individuals in 2017. Shiraishi lured victims through social media, exploiting their suicidal thoughts. He was convicted in 2020 and sentenced to death. The execution occurred at Tokyo Detention House. This event has reignited debates about capital punishment in Japan. Critics highlight the need for mental health support. Takahiro Shiraishi, 35, used social media to target vulnerable people struggling with suicidal thoughts, then killed and dismembered them in his Tokyo-area apartment Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Who is Takahiro Shiraishi? Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Japan carried out its first execution in nearly three years, hanging Takahiro Shiraishi , infamously known as the 'Twitter killer.' He was convicted in 2020 for luring nine vulnerable individuals, eight women and one man, into his apartment in Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture, between August and October 2017, via social media , then raping, strangling, dismembering them, and storing their remains in coolers and then 26, preyed upon people expressing suicidal thoughts online. Using five Twitter accounts, including one with the handle roughly translated as 'hangman,' he messaged victims that he would 'help them die,' and in some cases, kill himself alongside them. His apartment, later dubbed a 'house of horrors,' had body parts in coolers sprinkled with cat litter in an apparent attempt to conceal the first police breakthrough came when a 23-year-old woman's brother accessed her Twitter and traced messages back to Shiraishi's temperamental outreach. Upon searching his apartment on October 31, 2017, detectives discovered the grim makeshift his trial, Shiraishi admitted guilt and was sentenced to death in December 2020. His defense argued 'murder with consent,' claiming victims sought death, but the judge found his actions 'cunning and cruel,' pointing to sexual and financial motives and the extreme suffering Minister Keisuke Suzuki, after stating he ordered the execution 'following careful review of all factors,' condemned Shiraishi's 'extremely selfish motives' that 'caused great shock and anxiety in society.' The execution, carried out in secret at Tokyo Detention House, was confirmed publicly only show around 80 percent of Japanese support the death penalty. But critics, including suicide-prevention advocates and human rights groups, spotlight the mental health crisis that Shiraishi exploited. One father of a victim told reporters, 'Nothing has changed,' expressing that the execution could not heal enduring families' pain remains raw, even as media outlets report that Shiraishi's death reignites debate on Japan's capital punishment system, its secrecy, timing, and psychological toll. Experts reference the wrongful conviction of Iwao Hakamada, who spent nearly 45 years on death row before exoneration, as a warning for 'Twitter killer' case exposed systemic gaps in online suicide disclosures , prompting platforms like Twitter (now X) to reinforce rules against encouraging self-harm. Activists say the tragedy underscores the need for better mental-health infrastructure and earlier intervention, not just harsher legal now carries out capital punishment in exceptional cases; Shiraishi is the first execution since July 2022. As of now, around 105 inmates remain on death row, nearly half seeking retrials.