Dead Man Identified as Suspect in Attack on Sociologist in Tokyo

Tokyo, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)--Japanese police have identified a 41-year-old man who died in December as the suspect in a knife attack against sociologist Shinji Miyadai, sources familiar with the investigation said Thursday.

Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department plans to send papers on the dead man to public prosecutors shortly on suspicion of attempted murder.

Traces of DNA left behind on a plastic bottle thrown away by a person believed to be the suspect before the November attack matched those of the man, the sources said.

The man allegedly attempted to murder Miyadai, a 63-year-old professor at Tokyo Metropolitan University, by stabbing him at its campus in Hachioji, western Tokyo, on Nov. 29. The attack left Miyadai seriously injured.

From the man's house located some 9 kilometers away, and other locations, police investigators have found several knives, among other items.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]