Japan Times: Kato sorry for Akihabara massacre
Tomohiro Kato pleaded guilty Thursday to murdering seven people and injuring 10 in Tokyo's popular Akihabara electronics district in June 2008.
With the guilty plea, the trial at the Tokyo District Court will now turn on whether the 27-year-old's mental condition at the time of the massacre was stable enough to assign criminal responsibility. This determination will influence his sentence, which could be the death penalty.
"First of all, I would like to apologize to those who have passed away, to those who were injured and to their families," Kato said as presiding Judge Hiroaki Murayama asked him to enter his plea.
"Although there are some parts that I have no memory of, I admit that I committed (the crime) and that I am the culprit," Kato read from a memo he had prepared in advance. (more)
Meanwhile, a year and a half later, the open-street "pedestrian paradise" that used to draw thousands is still shut down by the police. The NPA is apparently working on the assumption that the best way to keep pedestrians from being killed by cars is to allow cars to drive through while restricting the pedestrians to tightly confined spaces.
Wow, that's harsh.
:robot:
