Hiroshi Hiraguchi

Hiroshi Hiraguchi is the Justice Minister of Japan. He is newsworthy because he announced the execution of Sunao Takami, a 58-year-old man convicted of setting a deadly fire at a pachinko parlor in Osaka in 2009. The fire resulted in the deaths of four customers and one employee. This execution marked the first time in over a year that Japan had carried out the death sentence. Hiraguchi's role in confirming and announcing this execution highlights the current application of capital punishment in Japan and the government's stance on severe criminal offenses.