Tokyo

Former Japanese vice agriculture minister Hideaki Kumazawa on Wednesday admitted to killing his 44-year-old son in his house in Tokyo’s Nerima Ward in June this year.

Kumazawa, 76, pleaded guilty in the first hearing of his lay judge trial at Tokyo District Court.

According to an opening statement by public prosecutors, Kumazawa’s eldest son, Eiichiro, moved to his parents’ place on May 25 this year as he became sick when he was living alone.

The former vice agriculture minister said he started thinking about killing Eiichiro out of fear about him, after suffering violence from him at home on the day after he moved in. Eiichiro used violence as he got mad when his father talked about ways to dispose of garbage at his old place.

The son, who had been without a job since 11 years ago, had difficulty communicating with others due to his developmental disorder, using violence at home since his school days.

The defense side claimed that the son, who was irritated by noise from an athletic festival at a nearby elementary school, threatened to kill the father on June 1.

Recalling the violence he suffered on May 26, the defendant had no choice but to kill the son, the defense side said.

According to the indictment, the former agriculture minister stabbed the son to death in the neck and chest with a knife around 3:15 p.m. on June 1 in a room on the first floor of his house.

Kumazawa held the top administrative post at the agriculture ministry between 2001 and 2002, dealing with a mad cow disease outbreak in Japan. He later became ambassador to the Czech Republic.

Jiji Press