Jun 12 (NHK) - The 22-year-old suspect in a weekend stabbing on a Japanese bullet train has reportedly told police that he bought his weapon just before the incident.
Ichiro Kojima was arrested on the spot and sent to prosecutors on Monday on suspicion of fatally stabbing a 38-year-old businessman. He also wounded 2 women in their 20s.
Sources close to the investigation say Kojima told police that he purchased a hatchet-like object in Nagano Prefecture, central Japan, and got on the train after travelling to Tokyo on Saturday.
The sources say the suspect told police he had been camping out at parks in Nagano for several months.
The police found a sleeping bag from his backpack that was left behind on the train.
The suspect reportedly told investigators that he carried out the attack because he was irritated and that he had picked his targets at random.