JAPAN: TOP COURT UPHOLDS DEATH PENALTY FOR DOUBLE MURDER

presiding justice Ryuko Sakurai of the Japanese Supreme Court's first petty bench upheld the Mito District Court ruling sentencing Soji Fujisaki, 49, to death for killing two women aged 75 and 79 and stealing 70,000 yen in cash in Hokota, Ibaraki, in January 2005.
Rejecting the appeal by Fujisaki, Sakurai said it was cruel to murder two acquaintances just for entertainment expenses.
Fujisaki’s defense argued he was mentally incompetent. However, Sakurai ruled that the death penalty is unavoidable even allowing for his intelligence level.