Tokyo "Joker" train attacker admits to stabbing passenger in 2021

Jun 27, 2023 | News On Japan

TOKYO - A man accused of attempted murder and arson in a 2021 attack on a Tokyo train while dressed in a Joker's costume admitted Monday to trying to kill a man he stabbed and starting a fire onboard, but his defense team denied the fire was intended to kill other passengers.

Kyota Hattori, 26, made the statement at the opening hearing of his trial at the Tachikawa branch of the Tokyo District Court. In all, he was accused of the attempted murder of 13 passengers including the man he stabbed.

According to the indictment, Hattori stabbed a man in his 70s in the chest onboard a Keio Line commuter express service headed to Shinjuku, a busy station in central Tokyo, from Hachioji in the west of the capital, on Halloween night.

He then spread lighter fuel and ignited it with the intention of killing other passengers, the indictment said. ...continue reading

Source: ANNnewsCH

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