Reports: Japan hangs 3, 1st executions since 2010

TOKYO (AP) ? Three death row inmates have been executed by hanging in Japan, the country's first executions in more than a year and a half, according to media reports.

The men were hanged in three different prisons early Thursday, Japanese media reported. One was convicted of killing five people at a train station in 1999.

Justice Ministry officials refused to confirm the reports. The justice minister was expected to give a news conference later in the day.

The executions were the first since July 2010. Capital punishment is usually ordered only for inmates convicted of multiple murders. Japan now has 132 death row convicts, according to the Kyodo news agency.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-03-28-AS-Japan-Executions/id-22894fdb8a4645c98a8b5d722c949014

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