A 30-year-old man accused of driving a car into seven schoolchildren in Osaka's Nishinari Ward told the first hearing of his attempted-murder trial on Monday that he would not seek a lighter sentence, leaving the court to weigh his intent and remorse without a plea.
Yuki Yazawa, of no fixed occupation, was asked at the Osaka District Court whether he admitted the charges. "I will not make it clear," he said. "I will remain silent. I do not want a reduced sentence."
Prosecutors allege Yazawa struck the children from behind at 19 kph in the afternoon of May 1, 2025, as they walked home from school, causing serious and minor injuries.
Prosecution case
In opening statements, prosecutors said Yazawa had fallen out with his family and attempted suicide twice in 2023 and 2024. He came to think he wanted to die, they said.
He reserved a rental SUV about two weeks before the incident and traveled from Tokyo, where he lived, to Osaka two days beforehand, according to the prosecution. He used that rental car in the incident, they said.
Prosecutors also said Yazawa had told his supervisor at the hospital where he worked as a radiological technologist that he was quitting, the day before the incident.
Defense argument
The defense said Yazawa had wanted the death penalty, but argued that autism spectrum disorder, a developmental condition, left him unable to take any other course. "ASD did not allow him to take other options," the defense said.
The Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office held Yazawa for psychiatric evaluation for about three and a half months. It judged him fit to bear criminal responsibility and indicted him in September 2025.
The court is scheduled to deliver its verdict on January 15, 2027.