A mentally disturbed man wielding a kitchen knife attacked children at an elementary school yesterday morning killing eight and injuring 15. NHK television reported that Mr Mamoru Takuma (37) was an outpatient at a psychiatric hospital. Apparently he overdosed on medication before setting out for the school. Witnesses said he was babbling incoherently during the rampage which began during the morning break.
The attacker told police he had tried to commit suicide and "just wanted to die".
The dead were aged between six and eight years old and there were two teachers among the injured. Survivors said Mr Takuma, who was also hurt when he was wrestled to the ground by teachers, picked on students who cried out for help first.
The Japanese Prime Minister, Mr Junichiro Koizumi, told reporters the incident was "heartbreaking" and said no words would offer any consolation to the families of the victims.
"We have to think hard about how we are going to make this a safer society," he added.
The Education Minister, Mrs Atsuko Toyama, sent officials to the school, which is in the suburbs of Japan's second city, Osaka, after announcing a full inquiry.
Although reminiscent of incidents elsewhere, such as the 1996 attack on a school in Dunblane, Scotland, random violence is still relatively rare in Japan and the attack has stunned the country.
A recent spate of apparently motiveless violent crimes, often involving teenagers, has sparked national soulsearching about whether Japan's social peace is on the wane.
