About a year has passed since the fatal stabbings of 19 residents with developmental disabilities at a facility in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, killed at the hands of a former care worker who spoke of euthanizing the disabled.

Satoshi Uematsu, 27, was indicted in February on six charges including murder and attempted murder, but his trial is unlikely to start soon due to the volume of trial preparation work, according to judicial officials.

Even the date for the pretrial conference, a procedure to sort out issues relating to the case before trial, has yet to be set.