OSAKA — Mamoru Takuma, who was arrested in the June 8 massacre of eight schoolchildren, was involved in a court battle with his former wife in which he had recently dropped his demand for reconciliation and instead sought money from her, investigative sources said Friday.
At a May 22 court hearing, Takuma demanded his ex-wife pay him 15 million yen, claiming he was physically and mentally exhausted, a completely different stance from the time he sued to annul his divorce, the sources said. Takuma, 37, repeatedly tried to contact his former wife's lawyer the day before the knife rampage at Ikeda Elementary School, the sources said, and police, quoted him as having said, "I'm fed up with everything." Police believe the legal impasse could have been the final catalyst for the attack.
The lawyer said that as the two sides' stands differed so widely at the May 22 hearing and Takuma's had changed so dramatically, his demand was unlikely to be granted.