The suspect in the stabbing of a 20-year-old female idol in Tokyo on Saturday repeatedly sent messages to a fellow female performer via her Twitter account after the victim apparently blocked his account.
Singing idol Mayu Tomita remained in critical condition after she was stabbed nearly two dozen times in the neck and chest by fan Tomohiro Iwazaki, 27.
Police sources quoted the suspect as saying he stabbed Tomita because she had returned a gift he had earlier sent her and did not clearly explain why. Iwazaki admitted attacking her when he was arrested, the police said.
Someone, apparently Iwazaki, sent multiple messages to Tomita's Twitter account and claimed to have sent a watch to her sometime between January and February. It was apparently returned to the sender in April.
Since the end of April, the same person sent about 20 messages over 10 days to the actress who performed on the same stage with Tomita, asking her to tell the victim to return all the gifts he had sent.
Police said the suspect, whose online messages were rejected by the victim, turned his discontent to the woman who knows Tomita.