TOKYO, JAPAN - A Japanese court on Monday handed the death penalty to a gangster who shot and killed the mayor of the southern city of Nagasaki last year, media reports said.

Tetsuya Shiroo, 60, who was associated with Japan's largest criminal syndicate, was convicted of shooting Mayor Iccho Ito as he campaigned for re-election in April last year.

Jiji Press and Kyodo News said the court in Nagasaki sentenced him to death. A court official had no immediate comment as the session was ongoing.