Takahiro Shiraishi, known as the “Hanging Pro” or “professional executioner,” was executed in Japan for the murder of nine individuals he met through social media. All of his victims, including eight women and one man, exhibited “a certain degree of depression and suicidal trends.” Shiraishi lured them to his apartment by promising them a painful death and offering understanding.

Once there, “I sexually assaulted them, strangled them, dismembered and stored the remains in some boxes in the bathroom,” Shiraishi confessed. His crimes spanned three months, and some of his victims were minors. He was arrested on October 31, 2017, and confessed without remorse. “Shiraishi said he acted motivated by his sexual desire and the existential void he felt.” In 2020, the Tachikawa court condemned him to death.

Born in Kanagawa, Shiraishi was described as a reserved young man from a working family with no criminal history. Former partners noted his lack of empathy and need for control. He dropped out of school and worked in adult entertainment, where he began manipulating vulnerable women, which is believed to have triggered his “digital hunt for lethal purposes.”

“The case of Takahiro Shiraishi, beyond it’s brutality, exposes key problems such as mental health, the use of social networks and the limits of punishment. The “professional executioner” raises us at what point justice becomes revenge.”

Capital punishment in Japan is reserved for cases of mass murder or extreme cruelty and is carried out by hanging. The last execution before Shiraishi’s was in July 2022. The execution procedure involves three officials simultaneously activating the trap mechanism, ensuring no one knows who initiated the process.

The Minister of Justice, Keisuke Suzuki, signed the execution order after reviewing judicial and psychiatric reports confirming Shiraishi’s mental capacity. Even though law mandates execution within six months of exhausting appeals, “Shiraishi was executed without his defense appealing the ruling.” The inmate is notified the same morning of the execution.

The Japanese government “defends this practice as a way of preserving the social order,” despite international criticism of prolonged isolation as inhuman. Amnesty International described the execution as a “cruel,inhuman and degrading act” and stated that japan has lagged behind human rights,in a world that advances towards the abolition of the death penalty. The NGO added that “the secrecy of the method amplifies suffering” and that the country is missing an possibility to reform a system that keeps more than 100 people in the death corridor.