JAPAN:THE MAN arrested after a bloody weekend rampage in a crowded Tokyo street that left seven people dead planned his attack days previously and left a series of chilling warnings on the internet, say the police.
Tomohiro Kato (25) has directed investigators to messages posted on a mobile phone bulletin board, giving a running account of his preparations for the attack in the entertainment district of Akihabara.
"I will kill people in Akihabara," says the first posting on Sunday morning, about seven hours before Kato allegedly rammed a two-tonne truck through a crowded crossing, killing three. "I will drive a vehicle into a crowd of people and then use a knife. Goodbye."
Witnesses described how the car factory worker leapt from the van and used a hunting knife to randomly stab horrified onlookers, killing another four people and injuring 10.
A posting on the website made about 20 minutes before the mayhem began said: "It's time."
Kato rented the truck early on Saturday morning in Shizuoka Prefecture, about 80 miles southwest of Tokyo, before driving to the capital, blogging on his cell phone along the way.
He reportedly told the police yesterday he knew exactly where he was going. "I got tired of my life. I've visited Akihabara several times. I know that there are many people there."
Hundreds of people have been paying their respects to the victims, aged 19 to 74, some laying wreaths and bouquets of flowers under a makeshift tent at the busy intersection where the attack started.
"It is just so shocking," said Kaori Ishikawa, an office worker in the district who came during her lunch break. "There have been so many cases like this lately. It makes me wonder who is next. Japan just doesn't seem to be safe any more."
Kato has been charged with attempted murder of a 24-year-old woman who was stabbed in the back. He is likely to be charged with murder sometime this week and to eventually face the death penalty for Tokyo's worst mass murder in recent memory.
Meanwhile, the government is considering stricter controls over the carrying of knives, following Sunday's killings, the latest in a string of random murders that have shocked Japan. Kato reportedly carried two knives, including a 13cm blade, freely available in high street shops, before being stopped by armed police.
"We need to think of the possibility of discussing tightening the control of guns and knives," said the government's top spokesman Nobutaka Machimura.
Japanese media reports indicate that he fit the profile of several recent knife attackers: single, male, employed temporarily and nursing a bitter grudge against the world.