CHINA: JAPANESE MAN EXECUTED OVER STIMULANT DRUG SMUGGLING

July 25, 2014: Chinese authorities executed a Japanese man in his 50s who had been sentenced to death in connection with stimulant drug smuggling.
Commenting on the execution, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told Kyodo News that China prudently applies the death penalty, and renders judgment based on strict legal procedures and reviews them. "The judicial branch also administers capital punishment based on normal procedures," Hong said.
Yang Yu, counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo, voiced agreement with the execution, saying at a press conference that drug-related offenses are considered serious crimes anywhere in the world.
"In China, the judicial branch independently hands down decisions based on the law, and all people whatever their nationality are treated equally and punished severely," he emphasized.
Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said China had notified Japan that the execution took place in the morning.
The man was sentenced to death in December 2012 and the ruling became final in August 2013, Japanese officials said, adding that he met his family on July 24.
Since Tokyo and Beijing normalized diplomatic relations in 1972, the man, whose identity was not released, is the fifth Japanese to have been executed in China, according to the officials. (Sources: Kyodo, 25/07/2014)