79-year-old woman cites Akihabara in stabbing

Written by Writer on Friday, October 24th, 2008

79-year-old woman cites Akihabara in stabbing

A 79-year-old woman indicted for stabbing a woman in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, in August, said in court Thursday she was copying the fatal rampage in the Akihabara district in June.

As her trial got under way in the Tokyo District Court, Hatsuko Kitagawa admitted to stabbing and seriously wounding the victim, a woman in her 20s.

“I thought if I brought on a similar incident as the one in Akihabara, police would (put me in jail and) take care of me,” she said.

In June, Tomohiro Kato, took a rented truck from Shizuoka Prefecture to Akihabara where he drove into pedestrians and then went on a stabbing spree. Seven people were killed and 10 injured, horrifying people across the country.

Kitagawa said she targeted the young woman because “I experienced the war and suffered a lot, and I felt frustrated when I saw young women enjoying themselves.”

According to the indictment, Kitagawa stabbed the victim with a knife in the side Aug. 22. She faces a separate charge of attempting to injure another young woman.

The Japan Times
Friday, Oct. 24, 2008