Man admits to stabbing passengers in 2021 random Tokyo train attack

A 37-year-old man accused of attempted murder admitted Tuesday to stabbing three passengers in a random knife attack on a Tokyo commuter train in 2021, but his defense team argued his intent to kill was not firm in his first court hearing.

Yusuke Tsushima is indicted for seriously injuring a then 20-year-old female university student by stabbing her several times in the chest and back, as well as injuring a woman in her 50s and a man in his 30s on an Odakyu Electric Railway train on Aug. 6, 2021.

In an opening statement at the Tokyo District Court, prosecutors said Tsushima had long harbored a desire to commit random mass murder and fantasized about killing women he perceived as “successful” in life, such as those looking happy with their partners.

Read more: Kyodo News (Japan)