A mentally disturbed man wielding a kitchen knife attacked children at a primary school in Osaka yesterday, killing eight and injuring 15.
The dead were aged between six and eight - six of them were girls - and there were two teachers among the injured.
Japan 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 man told police later he had tried to commit suicide and "just wanted to die".
Survivors said Mr Takuma, who was also hurt, was wrestled to the ground by teachers. He had picked out students who cried out for help first.
The man, whose injuries were apparently self-inflicted, was taken to hospital and handed over to police about an hour later.
A schoolgirl said that during the attack one of the students managed somehow to get onto the school's public address system. "There was a shriek," the girl said. "Then I heard a cry for help."
The attacker had previously been arrested in March 1999 and accused of spiking the tea of four teachers with tranquilliser at the school where he worked, but he was never prosecuted because he suffered from psychological problems.
The stabbings come as Japan is grappling with an upswing in violent crime. The country's strict gun laws mean most of the attacks - like yesterday's - are being committed with knives.
