A 29-year-old Chuo University graduate on Wednesday admitted stabbing a college professor to death last year, but his lawyers said the Tokyo District Court should take into consideration that he has a delusional disorder.
Ryuta Yamamoto stands accused of murdering Hajime Takakubo, 45, a professor in the Faculty of Science and Engineering at the university's Bunkyo Ward campus, on Jan. 14, 2009. He was stabbed 47 times with hedge trimmers with 27.8-cm blades and bled to death in a men's room in his office building.
In their opening statement, prosecutors told the lay and professional judges they will not dispute that Yamamoto was of diminished capacity. But they also said that in proving he can be held responsible for the slaying, they will demonstrate he deserves punishment because his intent to kill was self-centered.