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TOKYO - Japan on Thursday executed four death-row inmates, reports said.
The justice ministry executed four people in different places in Japan, Jiji Press and other major media said, quoting officials.
A justice ministry official declined immediate comment, saying that Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama was in the midst of speaking to reporters.
Japan is the only major industrial country other than the United States to use the death penalty. The government has sought to step up the pace of executions, saying public opinion demanded it.
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