An 18-year-old Romanian indicted for the murder and robbery of a woman in Tokyo last year said Wednesday as his trial opened that he had no intention of killing his victim.
The defendant, whose name is not being released because he is a minor, stands accused of fatally stabbing Arisa Yamada, 22, on a street in Musashino, western Tokyo, on Feb. 28, 2013, and robbing her of around ¥10,000.
An accomplice, a 19-year-old Japanese who received a life sentence, also denied intending to kill Yamada and has argued that the Romanian was the main culprit.
The Tachikawa branch of the Tokyo District Court is handling both cases.
Prosecutors argued at Wednesday's session that the Romanian "strongly stabbed" Yamada during the attack, which demonstrated that he intended to kill her.
They said he launched the mugging "to get pocket money with which to play around."
His counsel countered by saying he was "motivated by the need to rent an apartment as he could not secure a place to live at home" and had no intent to kill.