Prosecutors demanded the death penalty Monday for a Tokyo man on trial for murdering his 23-year-old neighbor and mutilating and dumping her corpse.
"It was a brutal crime, and there is no possibility that the defendant can be rehabilitated," they said in a statement to the Tokyo District Court. Takanori Hoshijima "must pay for his crime with his life."
Hoshijima, 34, has pleaded guilty to forcing Rurika Tojo into his Koto Ward apartment on the night of April 18 with the aim of sexually assaulting her. He stabbed her to death with a kitchen knife.
Between April 19 and May 1, he mutilated the body, flushing some parts down the toilet and dumping others in the apartment's garbage bin, according to the indictment.
When presiding Judge Kiichi Hiraide asked Hoshijima whether he wanted to make a statement, he told the court, "Please hang me without further delay."
His lawyers are seeking life in prison for him, saying the crime was not premeditated.
Hoshijima apologized for his crime, saying he "does not understand why I committed such a cruel crime. I intend to apologize by getting the death penalty."
On Monday, prosecutors showed photos of the mutilated body parts on a big screen in the courtroom and tried to get Hoshijima to confirm details of what happened.
Some of Tojo's relatives cried and left the courtroom.
The court explained the unusual proceedings as part of the efforts to prepare for the debut in May of the lay judge system. It said photos and other materials help people in the courtroom to better understand the case.
The court initially set Feb. 10 for when it would deliver its verdict but moved the date to Feb. 18.