Norio Nagayama was born on June 27, 1949, in Abashiri, Hokkaido, Japan. He grew up in a difficult environment as his parents divorced when he was young. In 1965, when he was 16 years old, he moved to Tokyo in search of a new life.

While living in Tokyo, Nagayama worked in the Shibuya district. During his time there, he witnessed the Zama and Shibuya shootings.

Norio Nagayama killed four people with a handgun between October 11 and November 5, 1968. His victims were Masanori Nakamura, Tomejirō Katsumi, Tetsuhiko Saitō, and Masaaki Itō. He robbed the last two victims of 16,420 yen. After his series of crimes, he was arrested on April 7, 1969, when he was 19 years old.

Nagayama faced a long legal journey. The Tokyo District Court sentenced him to death in 1979. However, this decision was overturned by the Tokyo High Court in 1981, which then gave him a life sentence. The Supreme Court of Japan reversed this decision in 1983. This reversal had significant importance for the application of the death penalty in Japan. After a retrial, the high court sentenced him to death once again in 1987. The Supreme Court upheld this sentence in 1990.

While in prison, Nagayama wrote many novels and became known as a public figure. His first published book was titled "Tears of Ignorance," released in 1971. He won a prize in 1983 for another novel called "Wooden Bridge." The writing community in Japan felt uneasy with his success due to his background as a convicted killer. Although he was rejected by the Japan Writers' Association, he received recognition in Germany in 1996.

On August 1, 1997, Nagayama was executed by hanging at the Tokyo Detention Center. He was 48 years old at the time. He made no final statement before his execution. In his will, he established a foundation to help poor people.