Japan killer planned more attacks

TOKYO: A Japanese man who admitted murdering a former top bureaucrat has said he planned to attack as many as 10 people because of the death of his dog, officials said on Tuesday.

“I hear the man made a (target) list of 10 people including former welfare bureaucrats and pensions officials over his dog,” said Health, Labour and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe. “I cannot understand why he committed such a rash crime,” he said.

Japanese police arrested Takeshi Koizumi, 46, on Sunday after he turned himself in to police with a knife covered with blood and claimed responsibility for attacks last week targeting former bureaucrats.

“I was going to kill more,” Koizumi told police, the Japanese news agency Jiji Press reported. “I was going to attack 10 people, including former vice ministers and their wives.”

A 66-year-old former vice welfare minister and his wife were killed last week at their home in Tokyo, while the wife of a 76-year-old former vice welfare minister was stabbed on her doorstep.