Japan’s Halloween ‘Joker’ attacker gets 23 years for 2021 Tokyo train stabbing, fire
- Kyota Hattori was charged with attempted murder and arson offences, after he admitted to stabbing a male passenger and starting a fire on a Tokyo train in 2021
- Hattori said he wanted to go on a killing spree to receive the death penalty as he felt his life had no worth, after he found out his ex-girlfriend had married someone else
The Tachikawa branch of the Tokyo District Court handed down the sentence on Kyota Hattori, 26, who was charged with attempted murder and arson offences. He admitted to stabbing a male passenger and starting the fire on a moving express train.
Prosecutors demanded 25 years, arguing that he planned to kill indiscriminately with the stated intent to get the death penalty and that “his motive was extremely selfish and deserving of strong condemnation.”
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Japan’s ‘Joker’ and ‘incel’ knife attackers in court over 2021 Tokyo subway incidents
His defence team sought 12 years, saying that by lighting the fire Hattori did not intend to kill 12 passengers who were riding in the train car in which the attack occurred.
According to the indictment, Hattori stabbed a man and attempted to kill other passengers by splashing lighter fluid around and igniting it on a Keio Line train around 8pm on October 31, 2021.
The stabbed man was briefly in critical condition, and his injury required around three months of treatment, it said.
During the trial, Hattori told the court he was so shocked when he learned that his girlfriend had married someone else only six months after they broke up that he decided to carry out the attack so he could end his life by receiving the death penalty, NHK public television reported.