GIAPPONE/ PARTE PROCESSO PER IL MASSACRO NELLA SCUOLA ELEMENTARE

L'imputato ammette l'uccisione degli otto bambini

Tokyo, 27 dic. - � il processo pi� importante degli ultimi anni in Giappone. Oggi � apparso alla sbarra, per la prima udienza presso il Tribunale distrettuale di Osaka, Mamoru Takuma, l'uomo arrestato per l'assassinio di otto bambini e il ferimento di 15 tra alunni e insegnanti in una scuola elementare.

"Mi dichiaro senza dubbio colpevole di aver ucciso e ferito nella scuola elementare Ikeda. Intendo salvarmi la vita, per riparare il danno commesso", ha detto Takuma nella dichiarazione

preliminare.

   Il processo, in cui l'imputato rischia la pena di morte, nonostante l'ammissione di colpevolezza, potrebbe essere lungo e durare anche due anni. Questo perch� la difesa tenter�, come ha gi� preannunciato, di giocare la carta della momentanea incapacit� di intendere e di volere, che sarebbe alla base del comportamento criminoso di Takuma.

   Questa linea difensiva � tuttavia smentita da una prima perizia psichiatrica sull'imputato, la quale ha stabilito che Takuma era lucido durante il massacro: "Si tratta di una personalit� border-line - recita la perizia - ma al momento del delitto aveva la consapevolezza di star facendo del male".

   Il trentottenne Mamoru Takuma, secondo la ricostruzione della polizia, a luglio scorso entr� nella scuola elementare Ikeda, nella quale aveva precedentemente lavorato, e con un'arma da taglio massacr� otto bambini e fer� altri 15 tra allievi e maestri.

   Per evitare che gli alunni sopravvissuti rivivano continuamente la scena del delitto, l'intero plesso scolastico � stato ricostruito, seguendo particolari criteri di sicurezza. 

  - December 27 

Defendant Wants Death Penalty for Japan Stabbing

TOKYO - A former Japanese mental patient charged with stabbing eight schoolchildren to death last June pleaded guilty Thursday, saying he wanted to pay for the brutal crime with his life.

 Speaking clearly but quietly, Mamoru Takuma, 38, entered the guilty plea at the first hearing of his trial at Osaka District Court in western Japan.

 ``It is true that I fatally stabbed children and others with a kitchen knife. I want to atone for my offences with my life,'' Kyodo news agency quoted Takuma as saying.

 Tearful family members of the victims, holding cloth-wrapped photographs of their lost loved ones in their laps, listened as Takuma also pleaded guilty to injuring 13 other children and two teachers at the Ikeda elementary school.

 The stabbing rampage at the school in western Japan shook public belief in safety at schools and sparked calls to stiffen laws on crimes by the mentally ill.

 Seven girls and a boy aged between six and eight were killed when Takuma burst into their classroom and started slashing at random.

 While school shootings have become a grim part of life in the United States, random tragedy on such a scale had been unheard of at Japanese schools.

 Doctors judged in August that Takuma, who had a record of psychiatric treatment and had seemed to be mentally unstable shortly after his arrest, was fit to stand trial because he was able to distinguish right and wrong at the time of the attack.

 He was indicted in September on charges of murder and attempted murder and prosecutors were expected to seek the death penalty.

 Takuma, who had confessed to the crime, told his lawyers earlier that he wanted to be executed soon and asked them not to contest his sentencing at the trial, Kyodo said.

 His lawyers, however, told the court that he suffered from a congenital mental illness and it was questionable whether he was fully competent to judge right from wrong when he carried out the attack, the news agency added.

 SOUL-SEARCHING, DEBATE

 Takuma had previously been arrested for lacing teachers' tea with tranquilizers at a school where he worked as a janitor.

 Deemed mentally ill at that time, he was not brought to trial but was instead hospitalized and eventually released.

 The stabbing set off a wave of soul-searching in Japan, raising questions about how to tighten security at schools without turning them into fortresses.

 Japanese schools have traditionally prided themselves on their openness to the surrounding community.

 It also sparked debate over how to handle crimes by the mentally ill, with critics calling for stiffer laws while human rights activists said better support systems were needed for those who returned to the community after hospitalization.

 Since the Ikeda attack, schools nationwide have run police-sponsored training sessions showing teachers how to apprehend possible attackers and children have been coached on what to do if an intruder enters their classroom.