A Japanese man who was sentenced to death over the 2016 murder of 19 mentally impaired people at a care home near Tokyo said Wednesday he will not appeal the ruling.

Satoshi Uematsu, a 30-year-old who formerly worked at the Tsukui Yamayuri En care facility in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, told Kyodo News even if his defense counsel files an appeal by the March 30 deadline, he will request it be dropped.

"I kind of expected (the death penalty) but I'm not convinced (I deserve it)," Uematsu said.

The Yokohama District Court ruled Monday that Uematsu is competent to be held criminally liable for his actions, in which 26 people were injured in addition to the 19 killed.

"I think it is wrong to continue my trial at higher courts. I have found my own answer," Uematsu said, adding he feels "heavy-hearted" when he thinks of how difficult it will be for him to receive visitors once his death sentence has been finalized.

Uematsu expressed no regrets about making discriminatory remarks about people with severe disabilities at court hearings.

"I don't think I'm saying something wrong...(Those severely disabled people) have no right to complain even if they were killed," he said.

In the trial, he said disabled people who cannot communicate their thoughts "create unhappiness in society."

Asked about how he felt when bereaved families spoke during hearings, Uemtasu said, "I thought they became hysterical. They didn't touch my heart."

He also removed the bandage from his right pinkie, which he tried to bite off during the first court hearing in January, saying, "I thought it was the grittiest way to offer my apology."

After the ruling was delivered on Monday, Uematsu raised his hand and asked for permission to speak, but the judge rejected the request. He explained to Kyodo News that he tried to explain in court that it would be positive for Japan if marijuana use was accepted.

The Yokohama court ruled his motivation to kill people with disabilities was mainly formed through his experience of working at the care facility, rejecting the defense team's argument that the influence of marijuana use caused him to unleash the attack.

The court also described the "grave consequences" of the stabbing rampage when handing down the death sentence, saying it is incomparable to other incidents.

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