China executed a convicted Japanese drug smuggler yesterday, making him the first Japanese citizen to be put to death in the country since diplomatic ties were re-established in 1972.
Mitsunobu Akano, 65, was executed in the northeastern province of Liaoning, Xinhua news agency reported, quoting an announcement from the Supreme People’s Court.
Tokyo confirmed the execution had taken place, saying Chinese officials had informed Japanese diplomats shortly afterwards.
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama again said the case was “regrettable,” but both sides said they hoped relations would not be affected.
“The seriousness of the crime of drug smuggling is widely recognized around the world,” Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu (姜瑜) told reporters.
“The death penalty is beneficial to the deterrence and prevention of serious drug trafficking crimes … we hope this case will not affect the normal development of bilateral ties.”
Akano was arrested in September 2006 at an airport in Dalian, Liaoning Province, while reportedly trying to smuggle 2.5kg of narcotics from China to Japan.
“The courts had clear and irrefutable evidence of drug smuggling and the death sentence was handed down and carried out in line with Chinese law,” the supreme court said.
It added Akano had been “treated legally.”
The report said some of the drugs were in the luggage of an accomplice but gave no other details on that person.
Akano was initially sentenced to death in June 2008 and the punishment was upheld last year, Chinese state media have said.
“It is regrettable, as I have said all along,” Hatoyama told reporters late yesterday.
“The government will work hard to ensure that this does not lead to cracks in the Japan-China relationship. We ask the public to remain calm,” he said.
Japanese Justice Minister Keiko Chiba earlier expressed concern that the case “could trigger a backlash from the Japanese public,” Jiji Press said.
Beijing has informed Japan it plans to execute three more Japanese drug smugglers as early as tomorrow — Teruo Takeda, 67, from Nagoya city; Hironori Ukai, 48, from Gifu prefecture; and Katsuo Mori, 67, of Fukushima prefecture.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS