BEIJING (DPA) — China executed a Japanese man on Friday after he was convicted of drug trafficking in the north-eastern port of Dalian.
Chinese officials notified Japan that the execution was carried out on Friday morning, Japan's Kyodo news agency quoted Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida as saying in Tokyo.
The unidentified man in his 50s was sentenced to death in December 2012 and lost an appeal in August, the agency said.
His family were allowed a final meeting with him on Thursday, it quoted Japanese officials as saying.
The execution was the first of a Japanese citizen reported since four men were executed for drug trafficking in Dalian and nearby Shenyang city in 2010.
It was not known if Friday's execution was connected with the 2010 cases, which Japanese media had linked to the trafficking of high-quality methamphetamine produced in North Korea.
China keeps its number of executions secret, but Amnesty International and other rights groups believe it executes more people annually than the rest of the world put together.
State media have reported the executions of several dozen foreigners convicted of drug trafficking in recent years. Most of them were citizens of other Asian countries such as Myanmar and Taiwan.
For comments, or corrections to this article please contact: [email protected]
You can also find Khaosod English on Twitter and Facebook
http://twitter.com/KhaosodEnglish
http://www.facebook.com/KhaosodEnglish
