Prosecutors on Friday sought an eight-year jail term for a former top bureaucrat at the farm ministry for killing his socially reclusive son in his high-profile trial in Tokyo.

Hideaki Kumazawa, 76, a former vice minister for agriculture, forestry and fisheries, is accused of stabbing his 44-year-old son Eiichiro in the neck and chest multiple times around 3:15 p.m. on June 1, causing his death from massive blood loss.

The defense team sought a suspended term, saying the defendant had supported his eldest son with a development disorder for a long time and committed murder to save his own life after his son had threatened to kill him.

In the trial, Kumazawa admitted to the indictment, saying "I would have been killed if I hadn't stabbed him." In Friday's hearing, he said, "I think it is my duty to pay for the crime and pray that my son can spend a peaceful time in the afterlife."