Tokyo knifeman Tomohiro Kato recorded killing spree on mobile phone blog

The knifeman who carried out Japan’s worst killing rampage in central Tokyo yesterday, killing seven people, may have been planning the attack for months.

Police investigating the killing spree, which took place in broad daylight in one of the capital’s most famous shopping streets, now believe it was scheduled down to the last moment.

The selection of Akihabara – the capital’s Electric Town which is famed as the cradle of modern Japanese youth culture – also appears to have been a central part of the killer’s dark scheme.

In the days leading up to the spree, Tomohiro Kato made several visits to “scope-out” Akihabara and establish its suitability for death. “I knew there would be lots of people and I decided this some days ago,” he told police.