Japan’s court sentences young murderer to death in landmark ruling

Japan has confirmed the death penalty for a 21 year old man convicted of murdering two people and setting fire to their house. The Kofu District Court in Yamanashi Prefecture announced the decision on Friday (February 2), following the withdrawal of an appeal by the defendant the day before. The landmark ruling in January marked the first time the death penalty was handed down to a so-called special juvenile offender, aged 19 at the time of the crime, with Yuki Endo being the first such individual whose real name was disclosed following his prosecution under Japan’s revised juvenile law.

The court found that Endo stabbed a 55 year old man and a 50 year old woman, the parents of a woman he knew, at their home in Kofu on the morning of October 12, 2021. The attack was motivated by the woman’s refusal to date Endo, who also injured her sister and set the house on fire, while the woman herself managed to escape unharmed, reported Sanook.

Endo is the eighth individual sentenced to death for crimes committed as a minor under the law, which follows the so-called Nagayama standards, set in 1983, that consider factors such as the number of victims, the cruelty of the crime, and its social impact. The Kofu District Court ruled that the death penalty was justified given the severity of the crime, despite pleas for leniency and the unlikely prospects of Endo’s rehabilitation.

In related news, Chawalit Thongduang, also known as Paeng Nahonod, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Pattalung provincial court for the attempted murder of an officer in 2019. The verdict was announced today after Paeng’s escape from the hospital. The case had five defendants, with all receiving life sentences for charges including resisting an officer and attempted murder. Despite the court’s decision, Paeng’s older brother expressed acceptance and hoped for his sibling’s well-being in any future legal battles.