Japan Hangs 'Twitter Killer' For Murdering And Dismembering 9 People

Japan has executed Takahiro Shiraishi, known as the ‘Twitter killer’, for killing and dismembering nine people in 2017. This is the first time Japan has ordered an execution by hanging since 2022. 

The thirty-four-year-old received his death sentence in 2019 after confessing his guilt before a court in 2020. He admitted to having killed eight women and one man in 2017. He was hanged at the Tokyo Detention House.  

The Crime 

Arrested in October 2017, Shiraishi’s apartment in the Kanagawa prefecture on the outskirts of Tokyo was searched by the police to investigate the disappearance of a twenty-three-year-old woman. The woman had previously expressed suicidal thoughts on Twitter, now X. 

In the apartment, the police discovered three cooler boxes and five containers in Shiraishi’s room, containing human heads and bones with the flesh scraped off. The nine victims were aged between 15 and 26, were identified by the police.

At his trial, Shiraishi revealed that he used Twitter to seek out his victims. He would tell them that he could help them die, and in some cases, claimed he would kill himself alongside them. His Twitter profile, which operated under the handle of ‘hangman’ in Japanese, included "I want to help people who are really in pain. Please DM [direct message] me anytime," in the description. 

In his admission of guilt to the court, Shiraishi refuted his lawyer's claims by saying he killed his victims without their consent to be murdered. He was found guilty in December 2020 of murdering, raping and dismembering the nine victims and storing their bodies in his apartment.

“This case, driven by selfish motives such as sexual and financial gratification, resulted in the deaths of nine individuals over two months – a deeply serious incident that has caused shock and anxiety across society. I understand it is an especially heartbreaking case for both the victims and their families,” said Japan's Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki. 

For these crimes, the Japanese court sentenced Shiraishi to a death sentence, which was executed by hanging on Friday, 27 June 2025.