Public prosecutors demanded the death penalty Wednesday for a 25-year-old man who earlier admitted to charges stemming from a mass stabbing in a Tokyo shopping center in 1999.
The prosecutors criticized defendant Hiroshi Zota, saying the crime was a cruel and indiscriminate attack on many people that could be seen as a challenge against humanity and society.
The prosecutors added that the incident caused serious societal unease. "The motive was simplistic and selfish," one of the prosecutors said.