Death penalty for Japan gangster

Shiroo is said to be linked to the Yamaguchi-gumi crime group

A gangster has been sentenced to death by a Japanese court for killing the mayor of Nagasaki.

Tetsuya Shiroo, 60, shot Mayor Iccho Ito twice in the back as he campaigned for re-election in April 2007.

Shiroo, a member of the country's largest crime syndicate, blamed the city government for his financial problems, the court heard.

The murder shocked Japan, where gun crime is extremely rare and the possession of hand guns is banned.

At the court in Nagasaki, Judge Yoshimichi Matsuo called the shooting "outrageous and heinous".

"This was a crime that shook the democratic system from its root and was equivalent to denying the electoral process," he said.

Iccho Ito was a pacifist who had served several terms as mayor

Prosecutors said Shiroo blamed the mayor for the local government's refusal to grant him a loan and compensate him for a traffic accident.

He shot him outside Nagasaki station in April 2007 in a bid to prevent his re-election, they said.

During the trial, Shiroo expressed remorse for the shooting and apologised to Mr Ito's family.

Mr Ito had served three terms as Nagasaki mayor and was a well-known pacifist.