At least 20 sessions will be held in the trial of a man charged over the 2008 stabbing rampage in Tokyo's Akihabara district that left seven people dead and 10 others injured, sources said.
The trial of Tomohiro Kato, a 27-year-old former temporary worker, will get under way Jan. 28 at the Tokyo District Court.
The trial is expected to be prolonged due to the rejection by Kato's defense of some evidence, including statements by victims and relatives of the slain, according to the sources.
Due to the rejection of the evidence, the court has agreed to the prosecutors' request to hear testimony from about 35 people, including victims and relatives, the sources said.
Kato is charged with running down pedestrians with a truck on a street in Akihabara that had been closed to traffic because it was a Sunday. After getting out of the truck, he fatally stabbed other passersby with a dagger, according to the indictment.
The incident drew attention partly because it occurred in the popular electronics area that attracts Japanese and foreign comic and animation fans.