Japan executed a dangerous serial killer, and the European Union criticized it.

Japan carried out the execution of Takahiro Shiraishi, known as the "Twitter killer," after he was convicted of the murder and dismemberment of nine people, mostly young women. This is the first application of the death penalty in the country in almost three years.

However, following the execution, the European Union issued an unusual statement criticizing Japan for having executed the killer and called for the abolition of the death penalty, in a clear defense of dangerous criminals.

The case

Shiraishi, 34 years old, was executed by hanging on Friday at the Tokyo Detention Center. His death sentence was handed down in 2020, after he pleaded guilty to the murder of eight women and one man.

Police arrested him in October 2017, after raiding his home in the city of Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture, following an investigation into the disappearance of a 23-year-old woman who had expressed suicidal intentions on social media, particularly on X.

During the inspection, officers found three portable refrigerators and five containers with human remains, heads, and bones cleaned of tissue, according to TV Asahi at the time. At that time, the case caused shock throughout the country.

The victims, aged between 15 and 26 years, had posted messages expressing a desire to end their lives. Shiraishi contacted them through social media, according to court reports cited by public broadcaster NHK and TV Asahi.

Using an alias that could be translated as "the executioner," he persuaded them to come to his apartment, promising to help them die, according to the Jiji Press agency.

During the trial, Shiraishi confessed to committing the murders to satisfy sexual impulses. In December 2020, he was found guilty of killing, raping, and dismembering the nine people, and of keeping their remains in his residence.

Although his lawyer initially appealed the ruling to the Tokyo High Court, he later withdrew the appeal, which left the death sentence in place, according to NHK. This is the first execution carried out in Japan since July 2022.

After the execution of Takahiro Shiraishi became known, the European Union criticized Japan for executing the violent criminal and called for the abolition of the death penalty, citing concern for the "human rights" of murderers.

In the Asian country, the death penalty is applied by hanging. Execution dates are not announced in advance and are usually kept strictly secret: the relatives and lawyers of the condemned are informed only after the sentence has been carried out.