Record 44 sentenced to hang in '06

A record 44 people were sentenced to hang in Japan this year and 21 death sentences were finalized, bringing the number of death-row inmates to a record 94, according to the Supreme Court and other sources.

The 21 defendants include Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara, 51, whose real name is Chizuo Matsumoto. He was convicted of masterminding the 1995 sarin attack on the Tokyo subway system and other heinous crimes, and Kaoru Kobayashi, 38, who murdered a 7-year-old girl in Nara Prefecture in 2004.

Asahara's special appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court in September, while Kobayashi withdrew his appeal in October after the Nara District Court sentenced him to death.

Among the 44 convicts who were condemned, the initial sentence for three had been life imprisonment.