The Justice Ministry said that three murderers, who were convicted, were executed Tuesday. The three convicted men were hanged.

According to The New York Times, Tsutomu Miyazaki, 45, Shinji Mutsuda, 37, Yoshio Yamasaki, 73, were involved in cases of “indescribable cruelty,” said Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama.   

Miyazaki was accused of murdering, mutilating and cannibalizing four girls. Mutsuda robbed and killed two people and then threw their bodies in the ocean. Yamasaki murdered two people for insurance money.

There have been 13 executions in Japan, including these three. Hatoyama said that this was a way to “achieve justice and firmly protect the rule of law.” According to The New York Times, four people were executed on April 10 because Hatoyama gave the orders.

These executions were rushed, as Japan was confronted with more crime cases, like the one in Akihabara, when a man stabbed several people, killing seven of them.

Jeff Kingston, director of Asia studies at Temple University Japan expressed his opinion on the case, saying that the executions of the three men were supposed to reassure Japan “that the full sentence will be carried out.”

Amnesty International Japan asked for the abolishment of the death penalty but Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said the public supported this law and there would be no change made.