Tokyo, 09 June, /AJMEDIA/
A memorial service was held Thursday to mark the 22nd anniversary of a stabbing rampage at an elementary school in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, that left eight children dead.
Relatives, teachers and students attended the ceremony at Ikeda Elementary School to remember the tragedy and pledge to keep the school safe.
The eight — seven girls in second grade and a boy in first grade — were fatally stabbed, while 15 others, including two teachers, were injured on June 8, 2001, by Mamoru Takuma. He was sentenced to death in 2003 and executed in September 2004. At his trial, he said that he committed the crime because he wanted to be executed.
The rampage led many schools in Japan to step up security such as locking gates and installing surveillance cameras.
