Bio 

Mitsuhiro Kobayashi was born in 1958 and lived in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. He was a 43-year-old taxi driver from Aomori Prefecture whose life descended into extreme desperation due to a mountain of personal debt. Unable to manage his financial burdens, he devised a reckless plan to rob the Hirosaki branch of the Takefuji Corp. consumer loan company on May 8, 2001. 

When the quick-witted employees refused his demands and immediately called the police, Kobayashi panicked and poured gasoline across the office floor, igniting a horrific blaze that killed five workers and severely injured four others. He was arrested nearly a year later in March 2002, spent over a decade maintaining in court that he never intended to kill anyone, and was ultimately executed by hanging at the age of 56 on August 29, 2014.

Murder Story

On May 8, 2001, Mitsuhiro Kobayashi entered a Takefuji Corp. consumer loan office in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture. The branch was located on the third floor of an office building. Kobayashi brought gasoline into the office, sprinkled it on the floor, and demanded money from the branch manager.

When the manager refused to give him money, Kobayashi ignited the gasoline and fled. The fire quickly spread through the office. Five employees were killed, and four others suffered serious burns. The branch was gutted and later demolished.

Police launched a major search after the attack. Investigators used a suspect sketch and witness reports of a green car leaving the scene. Kobayashi was arrested on March 4, 2002, about ten months after the fire. Prosecutors said he tried to hide his involvement by asking his wife to make it appear that she had been using the car on the day of the crime. He also reportedly made an anonymous call to a local television station saying that he only wanted money.

At trial, Kobayashi admitted that he set the fire during a failed robbery attempt, but he denied intending to kill anyone. His defense argued that he should be convicted of robbery resulting in death rather than robbery-murder. Prosecutors argued that he knew setting fire to a gasoline-soaked office would likely kill the employees trapped inside.

On February 12, 2003, the Aomori District Court sentenced Kobayashi to death. The Sendai High Court upheld the sentence in February 2004, finding that he could recognize the high probability that employees would burn to death if he set the office on fire. Japan’s Supreme Court upheld the death sentence on March 27, 2007.

Kobayashi remained on death row until August 29, 2014, when he was hanged at Sendai Detention Centre. Amnesty International reported that Mitsuhiro Kobayashi, 56, and Tsutomu Takamizawa, 59, were both executed early that morning.