A man suspected of leaving two knives on the school desk of a young Japanese prince has admitted to police that he intended to stab the 12-year-old boy because he disagrees with the imperial system, local news media reported.
Kaoru Hasegawa, 56, was arrested on suspicion of trespassing last month after two knives were found on the desk of Prince Hisahito, who one day stands to inherit the Chrysanthemum Throne. The incident occurred only days before the prince's uncle Naruhito became Japan's new emperor.
The knives, whose blades had been painted pink, were bound to a two-foot-long bar that straddled the school desk of the prince and a neighboring desk, local news media reported, heightening security fears and underlining the vulnerability of a royal family desperately short of male heirs.
Police say Hasegawa confessed to leaving the knives because he "was not satisfied with the imperial system and the succession," arguing that under that system "Japan won't get better," local media reported.
Hasegawa confessed that he intended to stab Hisahito, news outlets reported, but ended up just leaving the knives to let the prince know he had been there. Why the knives were painted pink and bound to a bar was not explained.
The Washington Post
