A man charged with killing two people in Osaka three years ago pleaded guilty as his trial started Monday, after the proceedings had been delayed so he could undergo two rounds of psychiatric evaluations.
Kyozo Isohi, 39, told the Osaka District Court he stabbed music producer Shingo Minamino, 42, and restaurant manager Toshi Sasaki, 66, to death on a street in the city on June 10, 2012.
"I've done what I really can't take back," Isohi said. "It's not something that can be forgiven no matter how many times I apologize."
His lawyers claimed he was in a state of diminished responsibility when he attacked the two with a kitchen knife, while prosecutors argued he was fully competent as he had no apparent problems in his daily life.
The court is expected to hand down a ruling June 26.
The attacks took place 17 days after Isohi had finished a prison term for violating the stimulants control law.
Isohi has said he had been experiencing auditory hallucinations at the time of the attack.
This prompted the Osaka prosecutors to seek a psychiatric evaluation of Isohi that lasted 3½ months. They decided he was sufficiently competent and indicted him in November 2012.
However, a further evaluation was ordered during subsequent court procedures, which resulted in the long delay before the trial got underway.
The prosecutors claimed Isohi decided to kill people at random out of despair over his future when he could not obtain the job that he wanted.
"I thought about killing myself, but I couldn't, and then I thought I would be sentenced to death if I killed someone," Isohi was quoted by investigators as saying at the time of his arrest.
