Japan on Thursday executed a robber who killed two peopleand a cult leader blamed for six murders during what she and her followers saidwere exorcisms.
The Justice Ministry said 65-year-old Sachiko Eto and39-year-old Yukinori Matsuda were executed by hanging.
Eto was convicted of beating her victims and hiding theirbodies at her home. During her trial, Eto's lawyers argued she had diminishedresponsibility as she was suffering mental problems at the time of the crime.
Eto's daughter and another cult member were sentenced tolife in prison for the 1995 murders.
Matsuda was convicted of killing two people during a robberyin 2003.
Japan is one of the few industrialized countries that havecapital punishment. The lack of transparency in the system has been criticizedby human rights groups, but capital punishment is generally supported by thepublic, according to opinion polls.
Japan had no executions in 2011 but has conducted seven thisyear. The Justice Ministry says 131 convicts are on Japan's death row.