A 30-year-old man accused of attempted murder after driving a car into seven schoolchildren walking home in Osaka's Nishinari Ward stayed silent at the first hearing of his trial, leaving the court to weigh intent without his account.
Prosecutors say he tried to kill the children indiscriminately. The children were on their way home from elementary school when the car struck them.
Asked to speak, the defendant gave a reason for his silence rather than an account of the attack. He said his own words would have a negative effect on the minds of the child victims, NHK reported.
The hearing opened at a time when courts handling random attacks against children must decide intent largely on circumstantial evidence. A defendant who does not testify narrows what the court can hear from him directly.