TOKYO, June 17 (UPI) -- A 45-year-old Japanese man convicted of killing four young girls was one of three death row inmates hanged Tuesday, the Japanese justice ministry said.
Tsutomu Miyazaki was executed 28 months after the Supreme Court upheld his death sentence, Kyodo news service reported. His trials had lasted 16 years.
Miyazaki was accused of abducting his victims in the Tokyo area and sexually abusing them before killing them. Throughout his trials, he did not apologize to the victims or their families, Kyodo reported.
The hangings of Miyazaki and two others brought to 13 the number of death row inmates executed since August when Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama took office, the Japanese news agency reported.
"After deliberate examinations we executed three inmates today," Hatoyama told a news conference.
Also executed were two condemned men, ages 37 and 73, Kyodo reported.
