On June 8, 2001, a disgruntled jobless man stormed an Osaka elementary school, wielding a kitchen knife, and killed eight children and wounded 13 others and two teachers. "This is an unprecedented case of atrocity in the nation's criminal history," the Osaka District Court stated in its death sentence on Thursday. "The grief and anger of the bereaved families is profound. There is no alternative but the death penalty." It is impossible to argue against this ruling.

During the 20-month trial, the accused, Mamoru Takuma, 39, showed himself to be a coldblooded man with a twisted mentality. He showed no signs of remorse for the murders. He hurled insults at relatives of the victims. He showed contempt for the court. And, in a last-minute display of perverted arrogance, he effectively boycotted Thursday's session; he was not there when the judge read out the sentence.

"Let me say my last words," he blurted out. "I'm going to die anyway." With that, the presiding judge rightly refused to listen and ordered the defendant out of the courtroom. That was the right decision. Yet it was extremely unusual -- and very unfortunate -- that the ruling was handed down without the defendant being present.