A 56-year-old man has admitted to leaving knives on the desk of Prince Hisahito at a junior high school in Tokyo, investigative sources said Tuesday.
The man, who identified himself as Kaoru Hasegawa after his arrest on Monday, is suspected of cutting some of the electric wiring connected to the surveillance camera system to avoid being recorded when intruding into the school, the sources also said.
Pruning shears were discovered on the premises of Ochanomizu University after two knives were found on the 12-year-old prince's classroom desk in its affiliate junior high school around 11 a.m. Friday, according to police.
The police believe Hasegawa avoided the university's main gate when he entered the junior school.
The discovery of the knives occurred ahead of the abdication of 85-year-old Emperor Akihito on Tuesday and the enthronement of Crown Prince Naruhito the following day.
The imperial succession promoted Prince Hisahito, the son of Prince Fumihito -- the younger brother of Crown Prince Naruhito -- to second in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne.
When the two knives were left in the classroom, Prince Hisahito, who began at the school this month, was attending a class outdoors.
According to the police, footage from surveillance cameras shows a man, believed to be Hasegawa, walking past the main gate of the university around 10:30 a.m. on Friday and near the junior high school 20 minutes later.
A man, also believed to be the suspect, did use the main gate to leave the campus around 11:10 a.m., they said, adding a person resembling him was seen at nearby Myogadani Station on the Tokyo Metro subway network.
The man wearing blue clothing with a helmet, mask and gloves entered Ochanomizu University Junior High School after telling a staffer that he was a plumber, according to the police.
Around noon, a school staffer found a 60-centimeter-long aluminum bar with two fruit knives attached to one end with duct tape like a pitchfork that had been placed across the prince's desk and the one next to it. The blades of the knives were painted pink, according to the police.
No written message was found at the scene and the police are investigating the motive as well as the home address and occupation of Hasegawa, who was detained at a hotel in Hiratsuka, around 50 kilometers southwest of the school in downtown Tokyo before his arrest.
(Prince Hisahito, center, is pictured with his parents, Prince Fumihito and Princess Kiko, on April 8, 2019)
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Knives found on Prince Hisahito's desk at Tokyo school
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