OSAKA -- The Ikeda city government in Osaka Prefecture on Monday set up tables to collect signatures for a petition demanding the indictment of Mamoru Takuma, the suspect in the June massacre of eight children at a local school, city officials said.
Until late September, residents of the western Japan city will be able to sign the petition at the tables, which were set up in four locations, including Ikeda city hall.
Takuma, 37, has been arrested, and prosecutors say he continues to undergo psychological testing. He is suspected of stabbing to death eight children at the state-run Ikeda Elementary School and injuring 13 others and two teachers on June 8.
The city's move was in response to a request by families of the victims who have been gathering signatures via the Internet.
At a table located near the first-floor entrance of the city hall on Monday, residents were seen signing the petition. On the same floor, paper cranes sent from Ikeda's sister city of Launceston in Australia in memory of the victims were on display.