Photo/Illutration Ichiro Kojima, 23, is charged with murder and attempted murder in connection with a stabbing rampage on a Shinkansen bullet train in Kanagawa Prefecture in June 2018. (Provided by a relative)

ODAWARA, Kanagawa Prefecture--Prosecutors sought life imprisonment for a man who fatally stabbed one passenger and injured two others on a Shinkansen train last year while the defendant said he will kill again if he is allowed out of prison.

Ichiro Kojima, who is 23 and of no fixed address, repeated statements in court he made to police after his arrest that he had intended to commit murder.

Prosecutors likened Kojima's actions to terrorism during the closing session at the Odawara branch of the Yokohama District Court on Dec. 9.

They said his actions amounted to "premeditated indiscriminate killing targeting innocent people" and noted he had "shown no remorse whatsoever during the trial.”

Kojima told the court: “I will never mend my ways no matter how much pain I suffer in prison. I will kill again if I am ever released from prison.”

In a past hearing, Kojima testified that he researched judicial precedents to ensure he would receive a life prison term for his plan to attack.

"I decided to kill up to two people since I would get the death penalty if I killed three," he said.

The court is scheduled to hand down its verdict on Dec. 18.

Kojima went on the rampage aboard a bullet train bound for Shin-Osaka Station on June 9, 2018, which he boarded at Tokyo Station.

Several minutes after the train left Shin-Yokohama Station for Odawara Station, Kojima abruptly stood up and stabbed two women seated on either side of him.

Another passenger, Kotaro Umeda, a 38-year-old company employee in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, tried to intervene but suffered fatal injuries while scuffling with Kojima. The remaining passengers fled to safety in other cars as the incident unfolded.

Prosecutors told the court that Kojima's actions stemmed from his conviction he should spend the rest of his life in prison as he found it difficult living on his own.

They noted that he is not on good terms with his family and other relatives.

Kojima was born in Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture. He joined a self-support facility after graduating from junior high school as his family life held no appeal.

He landed a job after high school and vocational training school, but quit after a year or so, and went to live with his doting grandmother in Okazaki in the prefecture. She later adopted him.

However, he was unable to get along with his uncle and aunt who lived on the same premises, and repeatedly ran away.

He began sleeping outdoors after he left home for the last time in December 2017. But his grandmother used to stay in contact by calling him once a week or so on his cellphone.

During a conversation with her in March 2018, Kojima apparently misconstrued what she said and concluded she was going to disown him.

In court, prosecutors contended that Kojima had a tendency to misinterpret others’ remarks and actions.

They said they did not seek the death penalty on grounds Kojima committed the attack out of desperation from fears his grandmother was trying to sever relations with him.

Kojima’s lawyers argued for impartiality in sentencing in the light of punishments handed down for similar crimes.

They contended that Kojima intentionally behaved aggressively in court in the hope of getting a heavier sentence.

The lawyers said imprisonment for a prolonged period, rather than an indefinite prison term, would allow their client to reflect on his behavior and repent for his crime.

Kojima was tried under the lay judge system.