AICHI (TR) – Prosecutors have demanded a 16-year prison sentence for a 47-year-old man accused of a random and brutal stabbing at a convenience store in Nagoya last year.
The defense team of Naohiro Iwamori claims he was suffering from a drug-induced psychosis, reports TV Asahi (May 28).
Last October, Iwamori allegedly approached an unacquainted male victim who was paying at the register of the store in the Mukojimacho area of Nakamura Ward and suddenly stabbing him in the back and stomach with a kitchen knife.
Security camera footage taken moments before the attack showed Iwamori walking through a residential area pulling a rolling suitcase. According to prosecutors, Iwamori used the suitcase to conceal the murder weapon to avoid detection before entering the store.
Following his arrest, Iwamori reportedly showed a callous attitude toward the attack, telling investigators, “I guess I’ll get about 10 years in prison. It’s not a good thing, but what’s done is done and it can’t be helped.”
During a hearing at the Nagoya District Court on Wednesday, Iwamori’s defense team entered a plea of not guilty. They argued that he lacked criminal liability. “The defendant was suffering from a mental disorder due to the influence of kakuseizai,” they said in referring to methamphetamine.
Prosecutors, however, rejected the insanity defense, arguing that Iwamori was fully responsible for his actions. They pointed to his deliberate concealment of the weapon inside the suitcase as proof of a calculated attack.
“This was a rational crime targeting a defenseless victim who did not realize the defendant was armed,” the prosecution stated.
The court is scheduled to hand down its ruling on June 3.
