Japan condemned for 'secret' executions
Two more men have been hanged, under a system where death row prisoners are not told of their execution until hours before. | Japan has carried out another round of "secret executions," bringing to eight the number of inmates sent to the gallows under the year-old administration of Shinzo Abe. Media reports said two men had been hanged in the fourth round of executions since Abe took office last December. Previous hangings took place in February, April and September, suggesting that the government plans to carry them out every few months. On Thursday, Mitsuo Fujishima, 55, was hanged for two murders in 1986, while Ryoji Kagayama, 63, had been convicted of killing two people in 2000 and 2008, media reports said. Japan has brushed aside calls by Amnesty and the European Union to abolish the death penalty, citing strong public support for the punishment.