Three Japanese prisoners executed

Three death row prisoners have been executed in Japan, the authorities have announced.

The justice ministry identified the men as convicted murderers Masahiko Matsubara, 63, Takashi Mochida, 65, and Keishi Nago, 37.

They were hanged at separate prisons in Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka.

Human rights groups are critical of the secrecy surrounding executions in Japan, one of the few industrialised countries to retain the death penalty.

Relatives are told only after the hangings have taken place and this is just the second time the names of those executed have been publicly announced.

The first was in December 2007, when three men were executed.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7221472.stm