Japan: man admits nine murders after contacting suicidal people via Twitter

In case that has shocked country and led to new Twitter rules, Takahiro Shiraishi assaulted and strangled victims

A 29-year-old man has pleaded guilty in a Tokyo court to all charges related to killing and dismembering eight young women and one man in 2017, in a case that has shocked the country.

Takahiro Shiraishi told the court he had contacted women via Twitter and other social media platforms who had expressed suicidal thoughts. He then took them to his apartment in Zama, about 40km (25 miles) south-west of Tokyo, where he sexually assaulted them, robbed some and strangled them.