A 79-year-old man on trial for murder and arson in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, admitted killing a man over an unpaid loan but denied killing the man's wife, and shouted in court before his hearing began.
Kaoru Sakamaki is accused of stabbing Toshiaki Watari and his wife, Reiko, both 59 at the time, at their home in Kashiwa, then setting fire to the house and other buildings with gasoline. Eight buildings burned to the ground, the indictment says.
At the first hearing on Tuesday, Sakamaki admitted killing Toshiaki. "I had lent him money and he wouldn't pay it back, so I killed him," he said, according to the indictment read in court.
He denied the charge of killing Reiko.
Outburst delays opening
Before the hearing opened, Sakamaki shouted and struggled, and the start of proceedings was delayed by a large margin.
“I have nothing to say. I am waiting for the death penalty.”Kaoru Sakamaki, defendant, speaking in court before his trial opened
The case places a man of advanced age at the center of a capital trial. Japan retains the death penalty, and courts here have in recent years sentenced defendants in their 80s, weighing age and health against the gravity of the crime.