Photo/Illutration Ichiro Kojima, second from right, at the Odawara Police Station in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, immediately after a stabbing spree aboard a Shinkansen train in June 2018 (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

ODAWARA, Kanagawa Prefecture--A man handed a life prison term for a fatal stabbing spree aboard a Shinkansen train shouted "banzai" three times after the judge passed sentence on Dec. 18.

The defendant, 23-year-old Ichiro Kojima, told the Odawara branch of the Yokohama District Court that he welcomed the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison.

The incident aboard a Tokaido Shinkansen Line Nozomi No. 265 train bound for Shin-Osaka Station that occurred between Shin-Yokohama Station and Odawara Station on June 9, 2018, left one passenger dead and two injured, one of them severely.

Kojima testified earlier that he initially had intended to only kill two people "since I would get the death penalty if I killed three." He also vowed to kill again if he is ever released from prison.

Prosecutors had sought life imprisonment for Kojima, who was indicted for murder and other crimes.

In handing down the sentence, Presiding Judge Yuki Sawaki said Kojima's indiscriminate act of murder shows that he “treated human life lightly and was extremely self-centered."

In previous hearings during the lay judge trial, Kojima, who is unemployed with no fixed address, explained his motives for the crime. Prosecutors provided his history of family feuding and homelessness.

The court ruled out a definite term of imprisonment on grounds Kojima’s crime was unacceptable even if his growing sense of loneliness and alienation after leaving home due to his unhappy family background was taken into account.

When the presiding judge told the defendant to return to his seat after reading out the sentence, Kojima shouted, “I won’t appeal the ruling, I’ll rouse three banzai cheers,” which he then proceeded to do as court officers tried to stop him.

The court also noted that Kojima is still young and has no previous criminal record. It said a term of life imprisonment would allow him to face the weight of his criminal responsibility and reflect on his actions.

Prosecutors explained that Kojima was sitting between two women on the train when he suddenly stood up and started stabbing them both.

Another passenger, Kotaro Umeda, a 38-year-old company employee living in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, tried to intervene and suffered fatal stab wounds to his neck and other parts of his body.

One woman's injuries took a year to heal, while the other woman was released from medical care after 17 days.

(This article was written by Shun Hayashi and Hirohisa Yamashita.)