Japan Executes Man Convicted of Killing 7 People in 2008 Stabbing Rampage

This illustration shows Tomohiro Kato (R), who killed seven people in a stabbing spree in Tokyo's neon-lit electronics district of Akihabara in 2008, sitting in the dock at the Tokyo District Court on March 24, 2011. STR/AFP via Getty Images

Japan has executed a man convicted of killing seven people in a 2008 stabbing rampage, the Justice Ministry said on Tuesday, marking the country’s first execution since last December.

Tomohiro Kato, 39, plowed into pedestrians with a truck in a Tokyo commercial district on June 8, 2008, killing three people and wounding two. He later exited the truck and fatally stabbed four passersby and injured eight others.