The mother of a former Self-Defense Forces member charged with robbery and murder over a 2018 attack on a police box in Toyama took the witness stand at his retrial on Wednesday, telling the court she will do "whatever it takes" for her son to apologize sincerely to the victims and their families.
The trial of Keita Shimazu, 30, opened at the Toyama District Court. He is accused of stabbing a police officer to death at the police box, taking his handgun and using it to shoot a security guard dead.
The mother began her testimony with an apology, saying she was sorry for causing the victims suffering for so long. She said she had met the security guard's wife in October and on Tuesday.
She said she would meet her son on the advice of a specialist in developmental disabilities, and that she wanted to close the distance between them "even a little." She spoke at times through tears.
“I want to do whatever it takes so that Keita can apologize from the heart to the victims and their families”the defendant's mother, witness