Japan hanged a Chinese man who killed a family of four in 2003 and dumped their bodies in the sea.
Thursday’s execution was Japan’s first of a foreigner in 10 years. Death row inmates in the country are not told of their impending death until the day of the execution.
Japanese Justice Minister Masako Mori said she had signed off on the execution of 40-year-old Wei Wei “after careful consideration.”
“It is an extremely cruel and brutal case in which the happily living family members, including an 8-year-old and an 11-year-old, were all murdered because of truly selfish reasons,” she said.
Wei admitted to playing a part in the murders but denied playing a leading role. Wei and two accomplices robbed the home of Japanese businessman Shinjiro Matsumoto, 41, in Fukuoka in June 2003 and strangled him with a tie. His 40-year-old wife was drowned in a bathtub and their two children, an 8-year-old and an 11-year-old, were strangled or smothered.
Their bodies were then weighted down with dumbbells and dumped in Hakata Bay.
The two accomplices fled to China and were arrested there. One was executed in 2005; the other was sentenced to life in jail.
