040 Mamoru Takuma: The Troubled Life Leading to the Ikeda Elementary School Massacre. From a difficult childhood and early crimes to the horrific 2001 attack and subsequent execution.

Here is a 500-word summary of Mamoru Takuma's life and the Ikeda Elementary School incident, based on the provided sources:

Mamoru Takuma (宅間守, 1963-2004) was a Japanese mass murderer responsible for the 附属池田小事件 (Ikeda Elementary School incident) on June 8, 2001, where he fatally stabbed eight children and injured fifteen others (thirteen children and two teachers). He was arrested at the scene and subsequently sentenced to death on August 28, 2003, by the Osaka District Court. Takuma waived his right to appeal, and the death sentence was finalized on September 26, 2003. He was executed by hanging at the Osaka Detention House on September 14, 2004.

Takuma's early life was marked by violent and problematic behavior. He was described as a rebellious child who engaged in animal cruelty, bullying, and disruptive acts. He harbored a strong envy and resentment towards those with higher education and income. Despite aspirations of becoming a pilot, he was assigned to aircraft maintenance in the Japan Air Self-Defense Force due to poor eyesight and was discharged after about a year for housing a runaway girl and engaging in sexual intercourse with her.

Following his discharge in 1983, Takuma held numerous short-term jobs, frequently resorting to violence, aggression, and reckless behavior, including reverse driving on highways. His criminal history began with a forcible rape incident in 1984, for which he was eventually convicted and served three years in prison. To avoid investigation for this crime, he feigned mental illness, leading to an initial misdiagnosis of anxiety neurosis, later changed to schizophrenia. He was released from prison in 1989 and reportedly caused two fatal traffic accidents while working as a truck driver, neither of which resulted in legal repercussions.

Takuma had four marriages, all ending in divorce, often due to his violent behavior and lies. In 1999, while working as a janitor at Ikeda Elementary School's sister school, Ikajiri Elementary School, he mixed tranquilizers into the tea of teachers, resulting in their hospitalization. He was arrested for this incident but was not prosecuted, deemed not criminally responsible. He was subsequently dismissed and involuntarily hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital. Prior to the Ikeda Elementary School incident, he was also arrested for assault and property damage.

Leading up to the 2001 attack, Takuma continued to display aggressive behavior, including spitting at people and damaging property, leading to his dismissal from another job and complaints from his neighbors. His motive for the mass killing was described as hatred towards society and a desire to vent his frustrations. He reportedly told investigators that he felt like "everything was annoying".

During his trial, Takuma was often disruptive . Despite initially asking his lawyers not to appeal a death sentence, they did so against his wishes, only for Takuma to withdraw the appeal, ensuring his death sentence became final. He expressed a desire for his execution to occur within six months and even considered suing the state if it took longer.

After his death sentence was finalized, Takuma married a female supporter in prison. He was executed less than a year later, an exceptionally swift execution compared to the typical timeframe in Japan at the time. His final words conveyed gratitude, but he never apologized to the victims or their families. His family background was marked by dysfunction, with a violent father and a neglectful mother, and his older brother committed suicide in 1999.

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