A man who went on a berserk rampage at JR Shimonoseki...

A man who went on a berserk rampage at JR Shimonoseki Station in 1999, killing five innocent people and injuring 10 more will hang for his crimes, a court ruled.
Defense lawyer Mutsumi Oho argued that his client, Yasuaki Uwabe, was mentally unstable at the time of his frenzied attack and thus he should be acquitted, but judges at the Yamaguchi District Court's Shimonoseki branch concluded that he must be held fully responsible for his actions.
"It was a premeditated attack carried out in an extremely savage manner. There is no reason to show leniency to the defendant," Presiding Judge Masao Namiki said in handing down the death penalty as demanded by prosecutors.
"The defendant was in despair and was contemplating suicide at the time. However, he selfishly blamed his parents and society for making his life miserable and drew up plans for the attack to vent his anger," Namiki said.
Survivors of the attack held a news conference following the ruling and urged Uwabe to accept the judgement.
"If he has a sense of guilt, he should not appeal the ruling," Noboru Nagase said. The 71-year-old is one of eight people Uwabe attacked with a kitchen knife. "It was a long wait for justice."
Uwabe, 38, of Toyoura, Yamaguchi Prefecture, drove straight into JR Shimonoseki Station's crowded concourse at high speed. After hitting a number of people, two of them fatally, he jumped out of the car and started attacking everyone within reach with a kitchen knife. The savage attack left five people dead and 10 more injured.
During the trial, he underwent two psychiatric tests. The first concluded he was paranoiac and he had limited capability to take responsibility for the incident the second concluded the opposite.