"Japanese Man Wielding Knife Indiscriminately on Subway Said 'I Wanted to Kill a Successful Woman'"

First Trial Held at Tokyo District Court

The first trial of a man in his 30s who indiscriminately wielded a knife on a Japanese train, saying he "wanted to kill happy or successful women," was held.

According to Japanese media including the Yomiuri Shimbun on the 27th, Tsushima Yusuke (37), who is accused of attempted murder for stabbing three passengers on the train, admitted to the charges at the first trial held at the Tokyo District Court that day. However, his defense attorney reportedly stated that there is room to dispute the intent to kill during the trial.

Tsushima Yusuke wildly wielding a weapon inside an Odakyu Line train running through the Setagaya section in Tokyo
Photo by Tokyo Kyodo·Yonhap News

Tsushima is accused of stabbing a woman in her 20s multiple times in the back and chest with a knife, as well as stabbing the abdomens of two other passengers, on the Odakyu Line train running through Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, around 8:30 p.m. on August 6, 2021, with the intent to kill.

As a result, the woman in her 20s sustained serious injuries requiring three months of treatment, and the other two passengers suffered injuries requiring one to two weeks of treatment. Other passengers nearby were also injured.

After wielding the knife indiscriminately, Tsushima got off the train, which had made an emergency stop, and fled along the tracks. About an hour and a half later, around 10 p.m., he was arrested by police at a convenience store approximately 6 km from the scene of the incident. He reportedly told the store clerk, "I am the perpetrator of the incident on the news right now. I am tired of running," and asked the clerk to notify the police.

Statement: "I chose the subway to kill more people"

An ambulance crew transporting an injured passenger to the hospital following a stabbing incident on the Odakyu Line train running through Setagaya Ward, Tokyo.
[Photo by Tokyo Tsushin·Yonhap News]

After dropping out of university, Tsushima drifted through various jobs and was unemployed at the time of the crime. In police questioning, he stated his motive for the crime: "For six years, I have thought about killing happy people. All the women I have met so far looked down on me. I thought I was the only unhappy one, and I wanted to kill many people." He also said that the trigger was being caught stealing items at a grocery store and being warned by a female clerk on the day of the incident.

He added, "It didn’t matter who. I wanted to kill many people," and said, "I thought I could kill many people inside the subway where there is nowhere to escape."

According to the Sankei Shimbun, Tsushima repeatedly expressed one-sided resentment toward women, saying things like "I wanted to kill successful women or happy couples."

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office detained Tsushima for psychiatric evaluation starting in September 2021 and, after determining that he could be held criminally responsible, indicted him in January of last year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.