Plan to fight after storming into Prime Minister's residence, tearing down national flag in court - Posts saying "riot police are the enemy" - Tokyo District Court

The first trial in the jury trial of Atsunobu Usuda (51), whose occupation is unknown, was charged with attempted murder and violation of the Molotov Bomb Punishment Act in connection with the attacks on the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters and the prime minister's official residence in October 2024, was held on the 2nd at the Tokyo District Court (presiding judge Kazunobu Eguchi). Defendant Usuda did not admit or deny the charges, and his lawyer stated, ``I will dispute the entire matter.''

When asked by the presiding judge whether he approved or disapproved of the flag, Usuda said, ``This is a Japanese flag made accurately based on the National Flag and National Anthem Act,'' and tore up the paper with the Japanese flag written on it three times. He remained silent when asked about his identity.

In their opening statement, prosecutors pointed out that Usuda was dissatisfied with the deposit system for election candidates, existing political parties, and police organizations, and had posted on social media saying things like ``riot police are the enemy of the people.'' He revealed that he began planning to throw Molotov cocktails at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters around January 2024.

The defense also made an opening statement, accusing the prosecutors of abusing their authority in prosecuting the case and calling for the trial to be terminated.

Approximately 20 witnesses, including police officers, will be questioned at the trial, and a verdict will be handed down on December 9th.

According to the indictment, on October 19, 2024, Usuda tried to kill a police officer on guard duty by throwing five homemade petrol bombs at him in front of the Liberal Democratic Party's headquarters in Nagatacho, Tokyo, and then drove his car into a fence to prevent vehicles from entering the prime minister's office. He is said to have thrown two petrol bombs at the driver's seat of his own car, setting some of them on fire.